Backing grows for Ferdinand

Rio Ferdinand has received the backing of the PFA, Nike and the legal profession over his intention to appeal against his eight-month drugs ban.

The Manchester United defender is still considering his options after being warned by FIFA president Sepp Blatter his club would be booted out of the game altogether if the case ended up in court.

As it stands, Ferdinand has 14 days to decide if he will appeal against the suspension, a hearing that would be chaired by an independent QC but include two members of an FA council United believe is determined to make an example of their star defender.

If that decision goes against the 25-year-old, he could take his case to the Lausanne-based Court of Arbitration for Sport – which Blatter does recognise - or pursue his case through the civil courts, a move that would bring the full ferocity of FIFA down on the Old Trafford outfit.

But no matter which way he turns, Ferdinand will retain the support of his sponsors and the players’ union and if he is looking for legal advice, there are some highly qualified people who do not believe the FA’s handling of the whole affair stands up to too much scrutiny.

“If it had been a criminal case, it would have been thrown out because there was no way Rio was ever going to get a fair trial,” said John Hewison, a senior partner with Manchester-based sports law firm George Davies.

“The FA might claim the commission is independent but the three men who sat on it were all from the FA. It’s hard to see how all the publicity that went before the hearing couldn’t have influenced them in some way.

“Mark Palios had already said he wanted tougher sanctions for drugs offenders and Sepp Blatter was leaning on the FA even more.

“It took three months from the offence being committed to the time the hearing took place, which gave everyone the opportunity to have their say.

“That did Rio no favours at all because it pushed the FA into a corner.”

While the wider sporting public largely believes Ferdinand has been treated with leniency, inside the football world there is astonishment at a punishment which compares sharply to the £2,000 fine Manchester City’s Christian Negouai received for the same offence in February.

PFA chief executive Gordon Taylor has already made his feelings on the matter plain and Ferdinand has won added support from Nike.

Ferdinand is currently 12 months into a three-year sponsorship deal with the American sportswear giant, which is believed to be netting him around £270,000.

And, despite fears to the contrary, the Londoner’s current problems will have no effect on the contract.

“This must be a very difficult time for Rio,” said Nike spokesman Simon Charlesworth.

“He has been banned for a long time but we feel the decision is very harsh.

“We are sticking by him and our thoughts are with him.”

After watching the defender come through yesterday’s 2-1 win at Tottenham unscathed, United boss Sir Alex Ferguson has already declared his intention to play Ferdinand as long as he is able to.

The 25-year-old former West Ham favourite has also been told by Sven-Goran Eriksson that he will be restored to the England side once his final punishment has been served.

Although he has yet to speak publicly on the possibility of an appeal, it seems certain the former West Ham and Leeds star will contest the verdict and despite Blatter’s latest outburst Hewison admitted the player could be forced to take civil action to get the result he really desires.

“If you have gone as far as you can in football terms and you still have a good argument then you have to go to the courts,” he said.

“I don’t see why that should break FIFA rules. The football authorities clearly have the right to punish players for things that happen during a game but in this instance they have banned someone for a long time for something different entirely.

“If you can see someone has patently been treated unfairly why shouldn’t they be allowed to pursue the matter further.”