Liverpool footballer Ryan Babel has been charged with improper conduct by England’s Football Association over a Twitter post he added to the site on Monday.
The post included a digitally altered picture of referee Howard Webb in a Manchester United shirt.
Babel also made a comment on the site saying: “And they call him one of the best referees. That’s a joke.”
The online outburst came after the 24-year-old footballer was outraged by some of the referee’s decisions when Liverpool played against Manchester United on Sunday, in which Liverpool lost 1-0.
The FA has confirmed the charge against Babel in a statement: “The charge relates to comments and images published by the player on Twitter concerning referee Howard Webb,”
Babel has now got until 4 pm on Thursday to respond to the charge, which could lead to disciplinary action in the shape of a fine or a possible ban from the FA.
The Dutch left-winger soon realised that his actions could get him into trouble however.
A little later he tweeted: “Sorry Howard Webb! My apology if they take my posted pic seriously. This is just a emotional reaction after losing an important game.”
Meanwhile, Liverpool manager Kenny Dalglish tried to minimise the damage, tweeting:
“Maybe I’ve been out of the game too long, but let’s see if they can find a sense of humor,” said Dalglish, whose first stint as Liverpool manager ended in 1991. “He apologized straight away.”
Dalglish also wrote: “I don’t think he’s clever enough technically to have drawn that up himself.”
It’s not the first time Babel has gotten into Twitter trouble. Last year January, Babel made his disapproval public on the site when he was dropped from the team by the Liverpool manager at the time, Rafa Benitez.
Maybe it’s time to learn from your mistakes, hey Ryan?
