Rio Ferdinand Criticised by Kick It Out for #2sides Claims

Rio Ferdinand has been criticised by football's leading anti-racism campaigner for alleged inaccuracies in his money-spinning autobiography.

Former Manchester Utd and England stalwart Ferdinand was taken to task over his attack on the group Kick It Out, which he clamed failed to support his brother Anton during the trial of John Terry for racist remarks against him.

Lord Herman Ouseley rubbished Rio Ferdinand's claim that Kick It Out refused to attend court in solidarity. In reality, he claimed Kick It Out (KIO) was present each day of proceedings, whereas the Queens Park Rangers defender was not.

In #2sides, Ferdinand wrote he initially refused to wear a KIO T-shirt because the group "refused to come to the courtroom with us, so I wasn't willing to go through the charade. My parents probably wouldn't have spoken to me if I had".

Claiming Ferdinand has used the campaign group as a "punchbag" with the remarks, Ouseley said: "It rankles in the sense that it sends out the wrong message.

"Nobody can ever say a player has come to us and we have not supported them. Not one. We have always done what we could whereas there are an awful lot of other people who haven't.

"Unfortunately we are the punchbag for some people and it's easy to have a punchbag like us. We're a soft target and the easiest target.

"Rio should not be attacking the weakest point – the people who are actually supporting him – but the people who were not supporting him. I would have thought the whole of football should have turned up at that court case wanting justice."

Kick It Out also denied a claim the group was kicked out of Ferdinand's mother's house in a row over a plan to wear KIO T-shirts in court as a display statement. Ouseley branded criticism of KIO's representative in court - Danny Lynch - "absolutely pathetic".

Ouseley said: "The support he [Lynch] offered the family was unbelievable and to make a stupid comment about the fact he didn't wear a T-shirt is pathetic."