Rio Ferdinand has criticised “tongue-in-cheek, token” punishments handed down by the authorities to people found guilty of racist abuse in football.
The Peckham-born former Manchester United and England star, 43, was speaking two days after a man was given a twelve-month suspended sentence for racially abusing him online following England’s loss in the Euro 2020 final last summer, although Mr Ferdinand declined to comment on this specific case.
Speaking exclusively to the News, Mr Ferdinand, who grew up on the Friary Estate just south of the Old Kent Road, said: “I don’t think the authorities are doing enough, I think it’s well-documented that discrimination and hate, especially online, isn’t being dealt with in the right and proper way.
“The severity of the news, you see what goes on behind the scenes, you see the impact it has on people in a negative way, the authorities I think… when they are giving out, I don’t know what word to use really, but giving out tongue in cheek, it feels to me, or token gestures, it doesn’t feel quite right.”
Mr Ferdinand has long criticised the British government and social media companies for not doing enough to tackle racist abuse online.
In a victim impact statement related to the abuse he suffered at Euro 2020, Mr Ferdinand said: ““I continue to find comments people say to me in football stadiums and on social media platforms deeply distressing.
“More and more on social media people are in the belief they are anonymous and there are no consequences. It is disgusting that people feel that can do this.”
Mr Ferdinand was speaking ahead of being awarded an honorary doctorate of letters by London South Bank University (LSBU) in a ceremony at the Royal Festival Hall. He was given his degree by Sir Simon Hughes, LSBU chancellor and the former MP for Bermondsey and Old Southwark.
“We see a lot of problems in the community and the world now, and a lot of it stems from a lack of education,” he said. “It gives you a chance to climb the ladder in society… The more young people that we can get into the educational system to give them those opportunities, the better for our country.
Mr Ferdinand added that for some footballers, education can naturally seem like an afterthought amid the glitz and glamour of their profession – but that this can have a cost later.
“It’s quite difficult to juggle the two, when you’re playing football you’re very focused, and to be the best at everything you have to be really single-minded and focused.
“I understand that it’s not always easy to think about what’s going to happen next but I was always one of the ones that kept an eye on the things I wanted to do next.
“Once I got to a place I was comfortable in terms of my career, how I wanted to be, and getting myself ready for the games and training every single day, I felt comfortable then to shift a little bit of focus into maybe what’s going to happen next in my life, making sure I’ve set things up so that when I do retire I’m ready to go into work.”
Mr Ferdinand spoke to the students at the graduation ceremony in an emotional speech. When he first reached the lectern to speak, he was largely silent for nearly a minute as he tried to gain control of his emotions.
Thanking the university, he said: “I never really knew… how emotional something like this could make you…
“The words graduation and Rio Ferdinand I never knew would be in the same sentence together! Firstly I think growing up in south London, in Peckham, I’ve been past this building many many times and always wondered what the hell went on in here.”
Discussing his background in Southwark, Mr Ferdinand went on: “Growing up in the area I grew up in, having the parents that I have, I was very fortunate I had a lot of support, and not a lot of people are afforded that support growing up. Especially from backgrounds where a lot of people in this room and myself are from.
“We’re always told that there is a dead end, that there’s a ceiling above you, and that you can’t get through it. My family very much [said] there was no boundaries. I was always one who wanted to be out of the box, I never wanted to be put in a box.”
Mr Ferdinand added that the family support and his own self-belief helped him become a top footballer, and that this broadened his own horizons.
“I’d kind of never really come out of south London and then I became a footballer and then I travelled the world.”
Mr Ferdinand said his Rio Ferdinand Foundation helps young people in Peckham and other areas with young people from difficult backgrounds work out what their goal is and work hard towards it.
“Football… allowed me to have a platform, to have a voice, and to use that platform for good,” he said.