Andre Gray charged with misconduct by FA over homophobic tweets from 2012

• Burnley striker has until 31 August to respond to FA charge
• Player has apologised for offensive posts from four years ago

Posted Wednesday, August 24, 2016 by theguardian.com

Andre Gray apologised for the comments he made in 2012 and said he was ‘at a very different point in my life back then.'

Andre Gray, Burnley's principal striker, has until 6pm next Wednesday to respond to a misconduct charge issued by the Football Association relating to homophobic, sexist and racist tweets from 2012. Should the charge be upheld, Gray could be suspended and/or fined.

One tweet from the 25-year-old forward, then playing for non-league Hinckley Town, appeared to condone the killing of gay people but Gray has since apologised, claiming he is now a different person to the one who posted the messages four years ago.

"Thankfully I am not the guy I was back then," he said in a statement but it remains to be seen whether the FA will regard the combination of apology and suggestion he is a changed man as mitigating factors in this case. In June Chris Stokes, the Coventry defender, received a one-match FA ban for making a homophobic comment on Twitter. Stokes used the term "faggots" on 2 May during Chelsea's Premier League match with Tottenham, before later removing it and apologising. He subsequently admitted breaching FA rules relating to the use of social media and, in addition to the ban, was ordered to attend an FA education course, fined £1,000 and warned as to his future conduct.

Gray's posts re-emerged last Saturday and hit the headlines as he scored against Liverpool to help give Burnley a 2-0 win at Turf Moor. One tweet read: "Is it me or are there gays everywhere? #Burn #Die #Makesmesick."

Burnley were quick to help him draft that apology. "Firstly, I want to offer a sincere and unreserved apology to anybody I may have offended in relation to these tweets," it read. "The tweets were posted four years ago when I was a completely different person to the man I am now. I was at a very different point in my life back then – one that I've worked hard to move on from.

"Thankfully a lot has changed in my life since then. I have experienced a lot over the past four years and have had to take responsibility for a number of things in my life which has enabled me to mature and grow as a person since that time.

"I have a lot of regrets regarding a number of things I've done in the past and realise I have made some big mistakes, none more so than these tweets, but I would like to stress that I've worked incredibly hard to completely transform my life since that time.

"To clarify, I do not hold the beliefs written in those tweets whatsoever. I can assure everybody that I am absolutely not homophobic and as said previously I can only apologise and ask for forgiveness to anyone I offended. Thankfully I am not the guy I was back then and will continue to work hard both on and off the pitch to become a better person."

A statement from Burnley said the club "do not condone any discriminatory behaviour by any employee". It added: "As Andre has made clear in a statement on his personal account, these are social posts from four years ago, and in this time he has completely transformed his life. The player has also apologised and denied he is, in any way, shape or form, homophobic."