A football club boss has been banned for an offensive tweet when Aston Villa played Brighton and Hove Albion in the final match of the season.
Villa chief executive Keith Wyness retweeted a video clip of his side being denied a penalty with the caption: “Referees in this league actually have disabilities.”
Mr Wyness, 59, said that he had not seen the caption and that it was an honest mistake. He said: “I have always sought to promote the interests of people with disabilities in football.”
When it was brought to his attention he deleted the tweet but he was charged with misconduct by the Football Association.
The FA fined Mr Wyness £10,000 and ordered him to complete an education course as a result of the post on Twitter. And it suspended him from all football-related activity for three weeks.
The FA said: “He admitted an FA charge that a comment he retweeted accompanied with a video was abusive and/or insulting and/or improper and/or brought the game into disrepute.
“Furthermore, the breach was ‘aggravated’ … as it included a reference to disability.”
