West Ham's Morrison admits homophobic tweet charge

West Ham United midfielder Ravel Morrison has admitted an FA charge of "using abusive and/or insulting words" after a homophobic remark on Twitter, the governing body said.

The FA wrote to the player last week for his views on the matter and he was formally charged on Wednesday.

"Ravel Morrison has admitted a charge under FA Rule E3 of using abusive and/or insulting words including a reference to a person's sexual orientation in relation to Twitter comments," the FA said on its website (www.thefa.com) on Friday.

Morrison has asked for a non-personal hearing, which means the FA will decide his punishment without the midfielder appearing in person before the governing body.

The 19-year-old moved from Manchester United to Championship (second division) leaders West Ham on transfer-deadline day last month.

Morrison, one of the brightest young prospects to emerge from Old Trafford in recent years, left Manchester United for a fee of around £650,000 after just three League Cup substitute appearances in the last two seasons.

He was involved in a number of off-field controversies at Old Trafford and has yet to make his first-team debut for West Ham.