West Ham's Cole fined for Ghana Twitter comments

West Ham United striker Carlton Cole has been fined 20,000 pounds ($32,790) for Twitter comments made during England's friendly against Ghana at Wembley last month, the Football Association said on Wednesday.

Cole admitted a charge of improper conduct at a regulatory hearing and was warned about his future behaviour.

"Immigration has surrounded the Wembley premises! I knew it was a trap! Hahahaha," the striker wrote on the social networking site before deleting the message.

Cole, who won the last of his seven England caps in March 10, later apologised for the comments and said they were not to be taken seriously.

"Cole was charged with improper conduct in relation to media comments made on the social media site Twitter on 29 March 2011," the FA said in a statement on its website (www.thefa.com).

"Having admitted the charge and requested a personal hearing, Cole was warned and fined 20,000 pounds."

The striker is not the first sportsman to get into hot water because of comments made on Twitter.

Former Liverpool player Ryan Babel was fined 10,000 pounds in January after posting a fake photo of referee Howard Webb wearing a Manchester United shirt following United's 1-0 FA Cup victory over his team.

England batsman Kevin Pietersen was also fined last year following an online outburst after being dropped by his country for the first time in his career.