Manchester United defender Rio Ferdinand has denied a charge of improper conduct issued by the Football Association following a controversial tweet relating to Chelsea full-back Ashley Cole.

The 33-year-old was hit with the charge on Monday after appearing to agree with a user on the social network site who referred to Cole as a "choc ice", which is thought to mean 'black on the outside and white on the inside'.

A statement released by the FA said: "Manchester United's Rio Ferdinand has denied an FA charge of improper conduct in relation to comments posted on Twitter.

"The allegation is that the player acted in a way which was improper and/or brought the game into disrepute by making comments which included a reference to ethnic origin and/or colour and/or race. The player has requested a personal hearing."

A date for the hearing has yet to be decided, with the new Premier League season just 15 days away.