Soccer-Al Jazira's Neves fined for offensive tweet

Jan 23 (Reuters) - Al-Jazira midfielder Thiago Neves became the first player to be punished by the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) for a social media rant after the Brazilian posted an offensive tweet about a referee. The 30-year-old was fined $25,000 fine and handed a suspended one-match ban for his Twitter post following the Oct. 20 AFC Champions League semi-final between victors Emiratis Al-Ahli and his old club Al-Hilal, who he left in July. "If Thiago Neves is found in breach of the AFC Disciplinary Code in the next two years, the suspension is automatically revoked and the sanction applied," the AFC said in a statement on Friday. "A repeat violation will also lead to a more severe punishment." Emiratis Al-Jazira take on Qatar's former AFC Champions League winners Al-Sadd in the playoff round next month for a place in the group stage of this season's tournament. (Reporting by Amlan Chakraborty in New Delhi; editing by Patrick Johnston)