Monday 20 February 2012 13:00, UK
Defender Manny Smith has issued a public apology to a Walsall supporter following a homophobic remark made on twitter.
Smith, who can now expect to face a charge from the Football Association, made the comment to supporter Kevin Paddock on the social networking site on Friday evening. Walsall are also dealing with the matter internally and have stated their "zero tolerance attitude to such behaviour", while insisting Smith's absence from Saturday's 2-0 victory over Wycombe was purely based on footballing reasons having not been fully aware of the incident until that afternoon. In a statement on the club's official website, 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 today (Sunday) 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 Saturday's deserved win over Wycombe."
