Ashley Cole has been fined £90,000 for a foul-mouthed Twitter rant in which he branded the Football Association a "bunch of t***s".

The Chelsea defender took to the social networking site to vent his fury after an independent probe cast doubt on his evidence at team-mate John Terry's racism trial earlier this month.

Realising his gaffe, he immediately deleted the message and issued an "unreserved apology" but by then the outburst had gone viral and the damage was done.

The FA confirmed the fine after Cole had admitted a charge of making a Twitter comment that was "improper and/or brought the game into disrepute".

He apologised via his solicitor on the day the tweet was sent and again in person to FA chairman David Bernstein, but a charge was still brought against the 31-year-old.

"Chelsea's Ashley Cole has been fined £90,000 after he admitted an FA charge in relation to a Twitter comment which was improper and/or brought the game into disrepute," read a statement on the FA's website. "Cole, who had requested a non-personal hearing, was also warned as to his future conduct."