Manny Smith facing FA rap after online row

Walsall ace Manny Smith was today facing an FA rap and club fine after a homophobic remark on Twitter.

The Saddlers defender was forced to apologise to fan Kevin Paddock yesterday after an online row on the social networking site.

Smith referred to Paddock's sexual orientation in the spat on Friday night and Paddock complained to the club on Saturday afternoon.

Smith could now face an FA charge with the governing body having already cited West Ham's Ravel Morrison after a homophobic comment on Twitter last week. The midfielder, who joined the Hammers from Manchester United last month, has admitted a charge of using abusive and/or insulting words in response to a fan on the site.

The FA were looking into Smith's comments today after police spoke to both men yesterday and decided against further action.

The Saddlers confirmed they will deal with the matter internally after confirming Smith was left out of Saturday's 2-0 win over Wycombe for footballing reasons.

Smith said: "I would like to publicly apologise to Kevin. The comments were borne out of frustration and were tweeted in the heat of the moment. I deeply regret them.

"I realise that, as a professional sports person, I am a role model and my conduct, both in person and via social networking sites, should reflect this. I met with Kevin in person and apologised to him face-to-face. He has kindly agreed that this will be the end of the matter.

"I just want to concentrate on my football and help Walsall maintain our League One status. I apologise to all our supporters and everyone connected with the club for this unfortunate incident, especially when all the focus should be on a deserved win over Wycombe."

The incident coincided with the launch of the Football v Homophobia campaign at the weekend.

The campaign wrote to every professional English club asking them to get involved but only 16 of 160 clubs in seven English divisions responded positively.