Rio Ferdinand Slammed by Kick It Out Chairman Lord Herman Ouseley

Kick It Out has responded to criticism from Queens Park Rangers defender Rio Ferdinand, saying that it deserves to be treated as more than "a punchbag" for the former England and Manchester United captain.

Lord Herman Ouseley, who acts as chairman for football's leading anti-racism organisation, is quoted by The Guardian's Daniel Taylor in responding to harsh words unloaded by Ferdinand in his autobiography.

In his book, #2Sides, Ferdinand slams Kick It Out for not providing more support to his family in the wake of John Terry's racism trial for abuse aimed at Rio's brother Anton. Ouseley recounts another side of the story:

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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.

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It's pointed out in Taylor's report that Ferdinand himself opted not to attend his sibling's court case, while Terry had Chelsea chairman Bruce Buck in his corner as a show of moral support.

There is evidence in the book to suggest otherwise, however, as Ferdinand recalls telling Clarke Carlisle of the Professional Footballers' Association to "come into the courtroom."

Wong Maye-E/Associated Press

The following extracts from #2Sides contains some language NSFW.

In the autobiography, Ferdinand writes that Kick It Out members had been urged by the Ferdinand family to attend the trial in campaign t-shirts but were told it would not be an option.

Upon being told as much, Ferdinand's mother Janice is quoted as replying: "In that case, get out of my house, and don’t f*****g come near us again."

Shaun Botterill/Getty Images

Kick It Out goes on to tell The Guardian that there was no recollection of that outburst or a meeting ever taking place at the family's household.

It's a sour twist on matters in what should have been a story of unity under such unfortunate circumstances, divisions emerging between two parties one would think are fighting for the same cause.

Ouseley insists that the biggest share of the blame lies with the "higher powers" of English football, "the Football Association, the Premier League, the clubs, all the people with real power, not us."

Clive Rose/Getty Images

This new argument moves away from the real matter at hand, of course, and the conflicting arguments from Ferdinand and Kick It Out lead one to question which side gives the most accurate portrayal of events.

In summary, Ouseley describes his organisation as a "scapegoat" in the controversy, saying: "Ferdinand is selling a book of trivia. Meanwhile, the bigger issues remain untouched."

One could certainly agree that the wider issue at hand is indeed missed while these two camps argue the details of a trial that dates back more than two years.