The first Mashup of 2012 (last one here) and this start to January has been a very eventful one for social media and sport in the news.  Some of it has been positive as social becomes more intertwined in major sports event and this week sees the start of the Australian Open tennis down in sunny Melbourne.

It has also been a time for apologies and fines in equal measures as sports stars take to Twitter to let their views been known.  Some has been a case of some careless banter and have received no more than a ticking off, while for others it has been much more costly.

If you haven’t caught our look into the future of social and sport we ran recently, you can via the links here for the USA/Spain Social Media 2012 predictions and for 2012 Predictions in the UK.

Anyway, there is much to get through so here we go (click on titles for full articles)….

Mark Williams set for disciplinary over twitter comments

Snooker star Mark Williams is set for disciplinary with the governing body over the use of offensive language on Twitter.  The players were warned about the use of social media platforms during the summer by letter from the board.

Snooker Star Ronnie O’Sullivan faces fine for Twitter comments

Carrying on the snooker theme, the star who always seems to get on the wrong side of the snooker laws has been threatened with a fine.  This time it was not for anything said about snooker but the 36-year-old, and three-times World Champion, criticised the Welsh glamour girl for going to the High Court to clear her name over claims she had tried to blackmail the Manchester United star over their six-month fling.

FA Cup game highlights available in iTunes

The FA has taken to step of making the FA Cup highlights, something that has always been reserved for TV and the broadcaster websites, onto iTunes.  You can now buy a ‘season pass’ to watch highlights from every round and from last season final.  If your a fan of cup football then this looks like a great purchase.

How the Australian Open is acing digital

The 2012 Australian Open Grand Slam tennis tournament may just be the most digitally connected major sporting event of all time.  This Mashable article looks at how the fist major tennis event of the year is showing the way for the rest of sport in 2012.  A Slamtracker already provides real-time updates of qualifying play that began on Wednesday, and fans can relive and share their favorite moments via Facebook and Twitter through a database of classic matches.

Wales captain Aaron Ramsey takes to Twitter to clarify comments

The Arsenal midfielder took criticism for saying he was disappointed at players not being consulted over Gary Speed’s replacement. But in a series of tweets, Ramsey clarified his comments to defend what he had initially said.  It should how Twitter can be used to defend players reputations and come at at the press for what they see as quotes being taken out of context.

Oxford City sack Lee Steele for homophobic tweet

A footballer who posted a homophobic remark on a social media website has been sacked by his club.  Oxford City striker Lee Steele made a comment on Twitter about the gay former Wales rugby player Gareth Thomas.

Tweeting about Thomas’s appearance on Celebrity Big Brother, Steele, 38, wrote a “strongly-worded” message about being in a bed near the contestant.  Oxford City manager Mike Ford said: “On this occasion Lee’s had to pay for his error of judgement.

Leo Messi shares Ballon D’Or win on Facebook with most shared post ever?

The Argentinian genius strolled to his third World Football of the Year award in a row last Monday and to celebrate this achievement his sponsors adidas put together a video with the man himself.  The video was released solely on Facebook and YouTube with no other promotion around it.  Since its release on Monday night it has racked up 1.9m views on YouTube together with 372k likes, 45k shares and 41k comments!  Is this the most ever in the sports world?

Rory Lamont apologises after Twitter blast at Barack Obama

Scotland and Glasgow Warriors winger Rory Lamont has apologised after describing Barack Obama as a “whore” on a social networking site.  The rugby international has used his Twitter account to make disparaging remarks about a number of politicians.

These have included the United States president, Prime Minister David Cameron and German Chancellor Angela Merkel.  The Scottish Rugby Union has described the language as “inappropriate” and the 29-year-old has apologised via Twitter.

Premier League Social Media stats – January 2012

Finally, here is the last infographic by Freestyle Interactive to enjoy showing the lastest social media stats from the Premier League….