Ferdinand calls punishment for Twitter comment 'ludicrous'

LONDON (Reuters) - Queens Park Rangers centre half Rio Ferdinand appeared to criticise the three-game ban he received from the Football Association for an inappropriate social media comment, describing it on Friday as "ludicrous".

The former England captain was also charged with misconduct and fined 25,000 pounds ($40,000) for a comment he posted on Twitter in September.

It contained the word "sket", which has the dictionary definition of "a promiscuous girl or woman", in response to Ferdinand being sent a message suggesting his team needed a new centre half.

The 35-year-old Ferdinand told his 5.93 million followers on Friday: "Is humour even allowed... I'm baffled! Ludicrous...."

He received support from QPR team mate, the outspoken and serial 'tweeter' Joey Barton who described it as "an absolute disgrace" and sent a message to Ferdinand suggesting the FA had "set a dangerous precedent".

Barton also tweeted: "3 games and £25k for a tweet? Come on."

QPR, who are due to receive the written reasons for the punishment on Monday, and Ferdinand are still considering whether to appeal.

Second from bottom Rangers travel to Premier League leaders and local rivals Chelsea on Saturday.($1 = 0.6250 British Pounds)

(Writing by Ian Chadband, editing by Tony Jimenez)