• United man's hearing with FA took place last Friday • Relates to defender's Twitter criticism of Ashley Cole

This article is more than 8 years old

This article is more than 8 years old

Rio Ferdinand's disciplinary case with the Football Association has taken place in secret and the defender is now waiting to hear whether his "choc ice" reference to Ashley Cole will lead to punishment.

The Guardian can reveal Ferdinand's hearing took place in Manchester last Friday and, after three days of deliberations, the FA is likely to announce the verdict either on Wednesday afternoon or on Thursday.

Ferdinand is charged with making improper comments on his Twitter site two days after Cole gave key evidence on behalf of his Chelsea team-mate John Terry during his trial at Westminster magistrates' court.

Terry was subsequently acquitted of racially abusing Anton Ferdinand, Rio's younger brother, when Chelsea played at QPR last October, and the Manchester United player had been responding to another Twitter user describing Cole as a "choc ice", meaning black on the outside and white on the inside.

Ferdinand responded: "I hear you fella! Choc ice is classic. Hahahahahaha!!'

He later deleted the tweet and claimed on Twitter that it was slang for someone being 'fake', but the FA charged him with making improper comments which included a reference to ethnic origin and/or colour and/or race.

Ferdinand, who appears to have lost his England career as a direct result of the Terry affair, denied the offence and requested a personal hearing to put across his side of the story.