West Ham striker Carlton Cole is in trouble with the Football Association once again following a comment posted on social media.

The Hammers star will be asked to respond to questions following a tweet on Sunday night, which was subsequently deleted, telling a Tottenham fan to 'F off you c***.'

Cole's outburst was in reply to a message from Spurs fan Stuart Hardy who asked: 'Hi @CarltonCole1 when your own team-mates don't kick the ball out when you're lying injured for 2 mins, you think it's time to call it a day?'

West Ham striker Carlton Cole is facing punishment from the Football Association for improper conduct

Cole's tweet was eventually deleted but by then it had been retweeted thousands of times by his followers

The FA commented on the charge, saying that the comment was alleged to be 'abusive and/or insulting and/or improper and/or brings the game into disrepute'.

Cole will have until 6pm on Thursday to respond to the charge.

This is not the first time the former England striker has landed himself in hot water with the footballing authorities, after he made comments on Twitter during England's match with Ghana on March 29, 2011.

The former Chelsea front man tweeted: 'Immigration has surrounded the Wembley premises! I knew it was a trap!

'The only way to get out safely is to wear an England jersey and paint your face w/ the St George's flag!'