Kick It Out have said that they are "disappointed" that the FA have failed to hand Sir Jim Ratcliffe a "stronger punishment" for his recent comments on immigration. The Ineos chief and Manchester United owner received major backlash for the comments he made in a Sky News interview earlier this month, in which he opined that the UK has been "colonised" by immigrants.

In that interview, he said: "You can't have an economy with nine million people on benefits and huge levels of immigrants coming in. I mean, the UK has been colonised. It's costing too much money.

"The UK has been colonised by immigrants, really, hasn't it? I mean, the population of the UK was 58 million in 2020, now it's 70 million. That's 12 million people."

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While Ratcliffe soon after apologised if his “choice of language has offended some people in the UK and Europe," the FA were forced to look into matters to see if the 73-year-old had broken any football rules.

On Friday, it came to light that Ratcliffe's punishment was that he has been reminded of his responsibilities as a senior participant in English football, avoiding any serious sanctions. In response, Kick It Out have issued a statement citing how they are disappointed by the FA's decision.

Taking to X, the organisation which is dedicated to tackling discrimination and promoting equality in football, wrote: "Kick It Out is disappointed that Sir Jim Ratcliffe has not been given a stronger sanction for bringing the game into disrepute.

"When speaking in any capacity, he is still a representative and co-owner of Manchester United, which has a global following. Unprompted, he brought the club into a TV interview where he was inaccurate with the facts and divisive with his language.

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"At a time when various forces are seeking to divide society, football must stand united. We urge those in leadership positions to be mindful of the responsibility they carry."

It comes as interim United head coach, Michael Carrick, also discussed Ratcliffe's comments with the media for the first time on Friday. He said: "Sir Jim has made a statement, and then the club’s made a statement on the back of it so for me to add to that is not my place.

"What I can say is, as I’ve been around this club many, many years, we always make a huge impact globally. We’re really proud of the environment and the culture that we’ve got at the club, and equality and diversity and respect for each other is something that we look to carry through every day."

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