Rio Ferdinand kicks up a storm - perhaps he should fund Kick It Out himslef?

Whilst the 'Kick it Out' campaign may have lost it's bite according to some, in the wake of some high profile race related cases the Premier League players who refused to wear the traditional T-shirts ahead of the start of this year's Kick it Out week of action have missed the point.

You could be forgiven for thinking that the campaign was all about the elite players in the Premier League but that is not the intention.

Looking at the Kick It Out website this is what they state about the campaign

'Kick It Out is football's equality and inclusion campaign.

The brand name of the campaign - Let's Kick Racism Out of Football - was established in 1993 and Kick It Out established as a body in 1997.

Kick It Out works throughout the football, educational and community sectors to challenge discrimination, encourage inclusive practices and work for positive change.

The campaign is supported and funded by the game's governing bodies, including founding body the Professional Footballers Association (PFA), the Premier League and The Football Association'

The whole point being that it is about racisim at all levels of football and the fact that two high profile incidents have hogged the headlines doesn't mean that the initiative has lost it's role in football or its impetus.

The irony is that by not wearing T-shirts, Rio Ferdinand, Jason Roberts et el have actually given the campaign far more column inches than ever before. In Ferdinand's case you have to wonder at the motives, given that he himself was sanctioned for what many considered a racist tweet against Ashley Cole in the aftermath of the John Terry trial.

No wonder Sir Alex Ferguson was besides hmself with anger in the post match press conference on saturday after Man United's 4-2 win over Stoke. The game was over shadowed by the tee shirt saga. Ferguson has said Rio Ferdinand "will be dealt with" after not wearing a Kick It Out T-shirt in a protest against the campaign group.

He went on: "At the press conference I spoke about it, it is disappointing," said Ferguson. "It is embarrassing for me."

The United manager also told MUTV Ferdinand's actions "let us down".

On Friday Ferguson said: "All the players are wearing it [the Kick It Out T-shirts]. I have only heard that Jason Roberts is different.

"I don't know what point he [Roberts] is trying to make."

In contrast, Roberts' decision not to wear a Kick it Out T-shirt before the 1-0 defeat at Liverpool was backed by Reading boss Brian McDermott.

"I support him 100%," McDermott said. "He had his reasons. Jason had his view and it was a very strong view. We spoke on Friday and I totally respect his view."

Kick It Out has a budget of about half a million pounds mainly funded through the Football Association, Premier League and the PFA and if the likes of Ferdinand don't see the point any more perhaps they should think about givning the organisiation more money to promote the cause. It's not as though the likes of Ferdinand and Roberts can't afford it.