Sir Alex Ferguson faces a humiliating climbdown in his T-shirt race row with Rio Ferdinand.
The Manchester United boss promised Ferdinand would be “dealt with” following the defender’s refusal to wear a ‘Kick It Out’ T-shirt to support the anti-racism campaign.
Ferguson had ordered all of United’s players to wear the shirt but Ferdinand defied him by not doing so before Saturday’s 4-2 win over Stoke at Old Trafford.
Ferdinand is said to be furious at his manager’s public criticism of his personal stance and has vowed to fight any attempt by the United boss to punish him for his actions.
And the Professional Footballers' Association branded Ferguson “out of order” for threatening Ferdinand with disciplinary action and claimed the United boss had no grounds to fine him.
Ferguson described Ferdinand’s perceived mutiny as “an embarrassment to me” and claimed the former England defender had “let us down” by not wearing the shirt.
Yet Ferdinand did not break any club rules or contractual clauses through his actions, leaving United unable to fine him, despite Ferguson’s outrage at the undermining of his authority.
PFA chairman Clarke Carlisle defended Ferdinand’s right to protest by not wearing the shirt and will help Ferdinand fight any punishment from United.
He said: “We will monitor the situation very closely and make sure Rio Ferdinand’s rights as a human being, never mind as a footballer, are not undermined in this position.
“Everyone has a right to free speech. Just like you can’t coerce anyone into shaking hands, you can’t make somebody wear a T-shirt, although I do personally believe that joining in with the campaign is the best way forward.
“Sir Alex Ferguson is continual in his unwavering support for the Kick It Out campaign which is commendable and what we all want to see, but you can’t vilify or coerce any individual for making a stand.”
Ferdinand, like many other high-profile black Premier League players, refused to wear the shirt claiming the Kick it Out campaign is not doing enough to eradicate racism from football.
Ferguson criticised Reading striker Jason Roberts, who also refused to wear the T-shirt, the United manager’s rebuke earning strong words from Carlisle.
“This shouldn’t be seen as an element of control or defiance,” said Carlisle. “Just like Sir Alex said when he was talking about Jason Roberts in his first interview.
“He doesn’t know the reasons why this stand is being made and what we should do first of all is hear those reasons and listen to them and take them on board.
“Sir Alex said he was embarrassed and that is because of the statement he had made on Friday.
“But [Reading boss] Brian McDermott and [Newcastle boss] Alan Pardew, these guys said they had entered into dialogue with their players and listened to the reasons for them making their stand.
“So I’d sincerely hope Sir Alex now speaks with Rio and asks him why he wanted to make that stand and hopefully supports the position he’s in and it isn’t seen as a player-against-manager situation.”
Ferdinand was at United’s training ground yesterday for a light training session ahead of tomorrow’s Champions League game at home to Braga, which he is expected to sit out.
Although Ferguson is unable to fine Ferdinand, the row between the pair has raised question marks over the defender’s United future.
Ferdinand is out of contract at the end of the season and was hoping for a one-year contract extension.
But if the fall-out between player and manager cannot be healed, Ferdinand is certain to be on his way at the end of the season.
Ex-United defender Viv Anderson, the first black player to play for England, claimed Ferdinand was wrong to undermine his manager. He said: “I don’t agree with Rio. You can see the manager was fuming and clearly he didn’t know anything about it.
“He expects his senior boys to set an example. He’s the manager. If he says we are all doing it together, it should be the end of the story.
“But Rio has gone the other way. I don’t see where he is coming from and I don’t know what it is going to achieve.”