Rio Ferdinand is feeling pissed off and I don’t blame him. A three-match ban for an offensive tweet while Malky Mackay and Iain Moody are still yet to be punished for their disgusting text conversation shows how useless the Football Association is.

The problem lies with the FA and their independent panels they use to dish out punishments. In their eyes, saying something racist on the pitch warrants only a four match ban if you’re the England captain but Luis Suarez was given double that and he wasn’t even taken to a court of law.

John Terry was fined £220,000 while the former Liverpool striker was fined £40,000. No consistency whatsoever.

Ferdinand has previous on Twitter. He replied to a tweet back in 2012 calling then Chelsea defender Ashley Cole a “choc ice” — black on the outside and white on the inside which is the modern day Uncle Tom insult. His punishment then? A £45,000 fine but still able to ply his trade on the pitch.

But fast forward two years and the QPR defender is once again in trouble for something he has written on social media. He was probably expecting another financial hit but the last thing he expected was to miss the London derby against Chelsea, league champions Manchester City’s visit to Loftus Road and next Saturday’s trip to Newcastle.

The FA needs to lay out a strict guideline for offences and make sure every player currently signed to a team in England is aware of it by putting it into their contracts.

That way, there will be no more inconsistent rulings by the governing body. Four matches for a racist offence but three for calling someone’s mum a “sket?” 

How many board members in the FA even knew the word existed before Ferdinand brought it to their attention? Not many I would imagine.

I grew up in an era where that term was common among my peers. Was it offensive? Not really but it wasn’t something you said to your best friend.

I’m not condoning what Ferdinand said or did. But Mackay and Moody are currently sitting at home and according to rumours within the media, they were going to get away with their sickening text exchange because the conversation was private.

I’m sorry but that is inexcusable. If Ferdinand had followed the person on Twitter, sent them a direct message and said what he had, would that have meant he wouldn’t have got in trouble?

And their reasoning behind the three matches? Because he is a big role model and should know better all because he has six million Twitter followers.

Not to mention the fact that they feel Ferdinand showed no remorse for his actions.

So let me get this straight. the FA are banning people for more games because they are popular on the internet and if you show no remorse you are not allowed to play football. 

Yet Sheffield United striker — and convicted rapist — Ched Evans has shown no remorse since he was released from jail last month yet is back training with his former club. You could not make this up.

The FA needs to look in their case files and do something about Mackay and Moody. They have sat on their hands for too long in the hope that people forget about the incident. Their handling of the Ferdinand case has brought it back into the public eye and the public are demanding the pair are punished.

It wouldn’t surprise me if Mackay and Moody were now handed a hefty fine and the former Cardiff manager is given a touchline ban should he ever be employed again. But the FA will then come across as desperate and would only be taking action so they don’t look weak.

The FA are weak and everyone knows it. Richard Scudamore managed to escape punishment after his sexist emails and is still the chief executive of the Premier League.

Joey Barton showed what a joke the FA is when he tweeted how they have handled previous wrongdoers in the league. And the fact they have told Ferdinand he needs to go on an education course is laughable.

The former Manchester United star knows what he did was wrong. Sitting him in on a course being told he has been a naughty boy is wasting his time as well as the course instructors’.

Have him go into the community and put on a talk about the dangers of tweeting offensive material on the internet and how Facebook, Twitter etc can be used to bring fans and players together and not be used as way to attack those who play for the opposition.

My advice? Say something offensive in private or in public and you are hit with a two-week wage fine, which is put back into the grassroots football fund.

I am aware that the pay scale throughout English football is wide and varies from club to club but no player can afford to miss out on half a month’s wage. 

If they don’t like it the solution is simple, don’t break the rules in the first place.