LONDON - Rio Ferdinand is leading a movement to launch a breakaway black players’ union to fight racism.Reports said the Manchester United defender planned to set up the organisation, which could be called The Federation of Black Players, to tackle all forms of discrimination.A first draft of a constitution has been written, and the idea is believed to have attracted strong support.The news came as the Kick It Out campaign chief Lord Herman Ouseley told ESPN he felt the refusal of Ferdinand, his brother Anton and Reading striker Jason Roberts to wear Kick It Out T-shirts this weekend had come across as an attack on his FA-funded organisation.The players refused to wear them because they said they felt the football authorities were not doing enough to combat racism.Ferdinand defied his United manager Sir Alex Ferguson to make his protest. On Monday, Ouseley was quoted as saying that the gesture was futile and that he would not have told Manchester United “where to stick their shirt and their £150,000 a week”.He also said he had “no intention of speaking for black footballers who are very wealthy” and who “have to be organised and speak for themselves” - a remark Ferdinand considered to be a direct attack on him.Ouseley told ESPN: “I support the right to protest, I support the players and I want what they want,” he said. “But whether they wear the T-shirts or not is something for them and is between them and their clubs.“The focus has been on those who have not worn the T-shirts when hundreds - thousands - of players have been wearing them. It comes across as an attack on Kick It Out, and that is unacceptable to me.
