Ryan Tunnicliffe has been handed a two-game ban and fined £5,000 after admitting an FA charge of aggravated misconduct by reference to sexual orientation after tweeting an offensive message directed at the former Middlesbrough striker Patrick Bamford.
Tunicliffe tweeted the following Middlesbrough’s play-off final defeat by Norwich City:
Happy that Middlesbrough didn’t go up, just for the main fact that @Patrick_Bamford is a sausage boy
The message has subsequently been deleted from the 22 year-old’s Twitter account. He will now have to attend a mandatory education course.
Fulham’s own brief statement on the matter added:
The Club, which has a zero tolerance policy for anti-social behaviour of any kind, can also confirm that it will be taking action against Ryan for his unacceptable actions.
The former Manchester United midfielder, who joined Fulham last January, made two appearances under Rene Meulensteen before being loan to Wigan Athletic. He enjoyed a successful spell at Blackburn Rovers after being considered surplus to requirements by Felix Magath before Kit Symons recalled him from loan duty and restored him to Fulham’s midfield. Tunnicliffe made 24 appearances for the first team last season and also captained the club’s under-21 side.
