Daniel Taylortalks to Anton Ferdinand about racism, maturity and his elder brother Rio.

Anton Ferdinand tells a nice story about a game at Chelsea a couple of years ago when he was out injured and decided to turn down his ticket in the "posh seats" to take his chances in the West Ham end. His brother, Rio, once did a similar thing with Manchester United's fans at Anfield and can remember Liverpool supporters showering them with urine and coins from the upper tier. Ferdinand jnr did not have it quite so bad but it was still a tribal, eye-opening experience - one that ended with him nursing a sore throat because of all the shouting.

"I could have had a 'complimentary' but I wanted to get in the mix and watch it with the fans," he says, stretching out on a sofa at West Ham's training ground. "I was joining in the songs, bellowing 'I'm forever blowing bubbles', hands in the air, shouting for the team, having a go at the ref, giving it some to the Chelsea fans. They rumbled me and were giving me all sorts of abuse. I was giving some back and the West Ham fans were loving it. I just wanted to be a proper fan because that, essentially, is what I am. People might think I'm something else. But I'm not."

In other words, Ferdinand does not appreciate the image that has attached itself to him - that he is a bit flash, a bit too cocky for his own good, and that he is too detached from the normal bloke on the street - with a collection of fast cars and bling jewellery that, no kidding, could write off several mortgages around Upton Park.

Those who know him best say it is unfair, and they are probably entitled to defend him given the prodigious amount of work he does for West Ham's community schemes and the fact he is one of the more proactive campaigners for Kick Racism Out of Football. Ferdinand is one of the organisation's ambassadors and argues passionately and eloquently that not enough is being done to educate those countries where prejudice is still rife.

"If they are truly serious about kicking racism out of the game the authorities have to start imposing bigger bans," he says, reflecting on his experiences with the England under-21s and, specifically, with Germany's Aaron Hunt, who was charged with using racist language but later had his two-game ban overturned on appeal.

"It can't be right that an international footballer can call another player a monkey and get away with it. We've moved on from the days when bananas were thrown at black players, or they were spat at when they went to take a throw-in, but there is still more to be done."

Contrary to the Baby Bentley stereotype, he comes across as thoughtful and reflective, generous with his time and, like his brother, far more grounded than some realise. Yet, just like Rio again, there are times when he does himself few favours. This is the man who told his manager, Alan Curbishley, he was visiting his sick granny on the Isle of Wight when he was actually on his way to an all-nighter at the Knock Knock nightclub in South Carolina. Ferdinand was fined two weeks' wages for that one.

Then, last month, he stood trial for actual bodily harm at a London court after punching someone outside a nightclub. He was acquitted on the grounds of self-defence (he claimed he was scared he was going to be mugged for his €87,000 watch) but the problem is that getting a bad name has always been easier than losing one.

"I'm not an aggressive person," he says. "You just have to look at my performances on the pitch to see that. In fact, some people say it is a failure of mine and that I could do with being more aggressive. But it's not my way. Even when I've been racially abused I have never reacted in an aggressive fashion. I've experienced racism from fans and from players. I've been called a monkey to my face and I didn't react. If someone used those words where I am from in Peckham they wouldn't get out without getting a slapping. But that's not my way."

It is not the first time Ferdinand mentions Peckham and it says a lot about him -and, indeed, his brother - that they still go back whenever they can to Gisburn House, the block of flats where they were brought up on the Friary estate, in classic Only Fools and Horses territory.

His mother, Janice, and father, Julian, a tailor and former doorman, encouraged their sons to try new things. "I used to love horses and I worked at a stables in Mottingham," says Ferdinand. "I'm not allowed to ride any more because of insurance reasons but I'd love to own my own horses one day and start riding again. I used to do gymnastics as well. And Rio had ballet lessons. He was 13 and I used to copy him at home. It's the sort of thing footballers slaughter each other for, but it has definitely helped him. Just look at his balance."

In many ways, Ferdinand is strikingly similar to his elder brother, both in the way they play and their occasional habit of embroiling themselves in controversy. Rio even has a double-page montage of tabloid headlines - "Rio's Hotel Rampage", "Rio's Binge", etc - in his autobiography and he was organiser-in-chief for Manchester United's now-infamous Christmas party.

"He has been there and done it, and I suppose he has got the headlines to prove it," says Anton, seven years Rio's junior. "The best advice he has given me is that you have to learn from your mistakes. If you don't, he says, then you're a fool.

"Which is so true. Everyone's entitled to make mistakes and, yeah, I have definitely made a few. But I have learned from them, and I will continue to learn from them. I'm still young. I'm on a learning curve and, in this line of work, if I make a mistake it's going to be highlighted."

Ferdinand has now recovered from a hamstring strain and hopes to line up against his brother when United visit Upton Park today. Beyond that, says the 22-year-old, his ambition is to break into the England side.

"It's a family dream to see me playing alongside Rio," he says. "That's when my mum and dad can sit down and say, 'Our boys have made it'."

He is proud, he says, to be related to "one of the world's best players" but it has not always been easy. "I've been compared to Rio all my life and when I was younger it used to get to me. I'd go to take a throw-in and someone would shout, 'You'll never be as good as your bro'. I was 11 or 12 and it would upset me but, looking back, I think it probably made me a stronger person.

"In football, you have to be strong and do it on your own so maybe it was a blessing in disguise when he left West Ham for Leeds. I was devastated at the time. I can remember him coming in one day and telling me that he was going and it felt like the end of the world. But I'm not in his shadow any more. I do feel I've made a name for myself now. And I've done it on my own." - Guardian Service