TWEET DREAMS ... Rio Ferdinand
Published: Today at 00:02
RIO FERDINAND insists he will not be gagged by anyone — despite facing an FA probe and taking horrific abuse from rival fans on Twitter.
The Manchester United star could be heading for the FA dock after he appeared to endorse controversial tweets that labelled Ashley Cole a ‘choc ice’.
But Ferdinand said: “I would love to have been able to be close to people like John Barnes, Gazza and Paul Ince when I was a kid. I would love to have just got their autographs, let alone be able to speak to them publicly.
“Twitter is something that lets fans get a bit closer to you, letting them see you do everyday things. A lot of fans presume that you’re at the opening of a bar, nightclub or a premiere every other night.
“They don’t realise you’ve got a normal life in most ways, although obviously you’re playing in front of thousands of people, with millions of people watching on a Saturday.”
While Ferdinand and United wait to hear from the FA, Arsenal’s Emmanuel Frimpong has been charged with improper conduct by the FA — relating to recent comments he made on Twitter.
Frimpong removed his tweet that labelled an abusive Spurs fan a ‘scum y**’ — but the FA still pressed ahead with their charge.
Arsenal are annoyed with the FA because they hit the player with a £20,000 club fine.
Boss Arsene Wenger said: “When he apologised, we dealt with it internally and we fined him. You cannot forbid tweeting because that is a restriction on freedom of speech.
“The problem is when people tweet straight away and it is a little bit of an emotional reaction.”
Ferdinand, who has more than three million followers, added: “Anyone who says they’re thinking of going on Twitter, I always say ‘you’ve got to have a thick skin’.
“If you can’t take it then it’s not the place for you.
“You have Liverpool fans, City fans and obviously now Chelsea supporters who seem to follow me and come on just to abuse me — but I’m just not a***d.”
