Ferguson urges Rio to make his voice heard

Alex Ferguson has advised Rio Ferdinand to take his complaints about how racism is being dealt with to the very top of the game.

The Manchester United manager has made peace with Ferdinand following a Sunday summit at Carrington, in which the former England defender highlight his concerns.

They also reached a suitable conclusion over why Ferdinand failed to wear the ’Kick it Out’ T-shirt ahead of Saturday’s Premier League win over Stoke, which so infuriated Ferguson, who had claimed 24 hours earlier that all his players would wear the shirts during the warm-up.

“I have listened to the conviction of Rio and I think it is quite compelling. I can understand his stance,” said Ferguson.

“But I think you are always stronger as a union. There’s more solidarity than as a single unit.

“The advice I would give is that he should take it up with the proper authorities, the FA and the PFA. It is only through that he will make his voice heard.”

A former shop steward himself, Ferguson has always believed in the collective approach rather than people going off like sheep, as he described Ferdinand’s fellow dissenter Jason Roberts on Friday.

The central component of his entire managerial philosophy is that his word is law.

At 70, it is hardly an opinion that is going to change.

And rather than back down from their respective positions, it seems the Carrington summit resulted in an amicable agreement to disagree, with Ferguson insisting any issues Ferdinand has over the FA’s handling of John Terry’s racism case with brother Anton should be taken up with the governing body directly.

“I spoke to Rio,” said Ferguson.

“The issue is pretty simple. There was a communication problem.

“He felt I should have spoken to him on Friday and I didn’t anticipate there would be any problem in the dressing room as far as the T-shirt was concerned.”

Harmony has been restored, though. And while Ferdinand will not face Braga in the Champions League at Old Trafford tonight, Ferguson is willing to considering offering the 33-year-old a contract extension this summer.

“Rio can play for two or three years,” said Ferguson.

“He has different issues from Paul Scholes or Ryan Giggs in terms of injuries over the last couple of years.

“He is not as quick as he was but that is not a big problem because his experience is important.

“We have always adopted that policy of offering one-year contracts, so we will see as the season progresses.”