Gordon Taylor of the PFA has launched an attack on the Football Association in response to their charging of Liverpool midfielder Ryan Babel over a tweet he sent at the weekend.
Babel posted a Photoshopped photograph of referee Howard Webb wearing a Manchester United shirt on the social networking site following Liverpool’s 1-0 defeat to Utd in the FA Cup on Sunday.
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The FA investigated the tweet, despite Babel removing it and publicly apologising to Webb, and charged Babel with improper conduct on Monday.
“Where’s our sense of humour gone in our game?” Taylor said on BBC Radio Merseyside. “He’s apologised, let’s move on.”
“I would think that Howard Webb is a big enough man, a big enough person and good enough referee to take it.
“To my mind, and to most footballers’ minds, it is the same sort of stuff that flies about every weekend via mobile phones, but they are obviously taking a stance on it. I thought a warning would have been sufficient.”
Liverpool boss Kenny Dalglish described Babel’s tweet as “just a bit of fun.”
Babel has until 4pm on Thursday to respond to the charge.
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