For football's sake, dignity and respect must win the day Lord Ouseley, the chairman of Kick It Out, yesterday called on the captains and the referee at Anfield to take action if the fans cross the line between rivalry and bigotry. "It's very important that people like Steven Gerrard and Patrice Evra take responsibility at Anfield and that football wins," said Ouseley. If there's abuse, the referee should stop the game and point out to the stewards and the ground administrator that they have to deal with something. Even though Loftus Road is not sold out, both grounds will resemble cauldrons come kick-off. Saturday is a day for strong men. Hughes relished the abuse he received when stepping out in front of the Kop as a United player. "It was great," he recalled, eyes twinkling at the memory. It was one of the biggest games of the year and I absolutely loved it. The more abuse I had the better I played. Some players embrace that and I used to love the stick, opposition fans having a go at me. I just felt it was great to get out there and irritate them even more by playing well. The best thing you can do when people are giving you stick is to win. You have to be able to perform when circumstances are not ideal. We can all kick a ball and run around but it's having the mental fortitude to deal with situations that surround the game and things that happen during the 90 minutes. That stands you out as a good player or a player who can't at that level. Hughes has asked Ferdinand if he feels he has that mental fortitude for today's challenge. "I've had the conversation," acknowledged Hughes. He's very positive about the game and he's looking forward to it. He wants to play and his team-mates want him to play. He'll get support from them, from me and our fans will back him wholeheartedly. There are fears that some Chelsea fans may feel they can get away with the 'you know what you are' chant towards Ferdinand as it is not explicitly racist. "Possibly," replied Hughes. People are creative and try and push the envelope sometimes but we understand what is meant by that. When Hughes first started playing in the early Eighties, the aggression on the terraces was predominantly physical. In the modern era of CCTV, banning orders, better stewarding and campaigns by enlightened supporters' groups against hooliganism, violent urges are mainly expressed verbally. "There has been a sea change," acknowledged Hughes. Sometimes it's more prevalent and more vindictive but it has always been there. It's more of an issue these days because there are so many media platforms where it's discussed. News and views travel fast on the superhighway of the digital age, particularly via Twitter. In an age of economic uncertainty, the underground sewer of racism can overflow on the terraces and on Twitter. "These are harsh times and extremists are trying to get a toehold back in the game having been marginalised," added Ouseley. It has taken us a long time to see the authorities to say we are not going to put up with this, we will investigate complaints or reports and seek to have people prosecuted. That's happening now. Police have taken action against people making racist and homophobic posts on Twitter. Angered by Liverpool's support for Suárez, Ouseley was impressed by Anfield's reaction when a fan allegedly made a derogatory comment towards the Oldham Athletic player, Tom Adeyemi. "The way football responded when Tom was abused at Liverpool is the way we need to go with the stewards in tackling it, the police in nicking someone, and the response from the majority of the fans, who applauded Tom at the end of the game, and the response from all the players," said Ouseley. It was an iconic picture of Steven Gerrard wrapping his arms around Tom. That was fabulous. That's how it's got to be: a top player like Steven Gerrard showing there's more dignity in football than people think. That makes all the difference. That said, this is a sport where people are treated with dignity. Afterwards, Liverpool were right up front in issuing a fulsome apology. OK, they probably learnt the hard way from the Suárez experience but if you make mistakes, don't repeat them. Say you are not going to accept that c---. It is time for respect to return to the game. Players and supporters would do well to heed Kenny Dalglish's programme notes for the visit of Sir Alex Ferguson's men - from Boxing Day, 1986. I can tell you that all the Liverpool players have a healthy respect for their Manchester United counterparts, but while we maintain a very real rivalry, there is no ill-will about it. Both teams have earned a reputation through the years for playing good football, and the quality of the players at both clubs is beyond dispute. So we should all be able to look forward to an entertaining game and - most important - we should all be able to anticipate the occasion with the feeling we are going to enjoy it. It's a game. Enjoy it. Respect it.