Ferdinand was charged with comments made on Twitter, where he seemed to label Ashley Cole "choc-ice", a racial term for someone black on the outside and white on the inside.

"Manchester United's Rio Ferdinand has denied an FA charge of improper conduct in relation to comments posted on Twitter," the FA said on their website.

"The allegation is that the player acted in a way which was improper and/or brought the game into disrepute by making comments which included a reference to ethnic origin and/or color and/or race.

"The player has requested a personal hearing."