Les Ferdinand has revealed he was accused by some QPR supporters of 'bringing the black mafia in' at the Championship club after appointing successive black managers.
Ferdinand resigned as QPR director of football last summer after an eight-year spell in the role, having previously starred for the club in the late 1980s and early 1990s.
The 57-year-old highlighted criticism he had received in the role, including claims he was favouring black coaches after the appointments of Chris Ramsey and Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink.
Ramsey was appointed in February 2015 following the departure of Harry Redknapp as manager.
He was sacked as head coach later that year - before returning as technical director - with former Dutch international star Hasselbaink recruited from Burton Albion.
Les Ferdinand, left, revealed the successive appointments of Chris Ramsey, right, and Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink led to claims he was bringing the 'black mafia' to QPR
Hasselbaink was appointed as QPR manager in December 2015 after succeeding Ramsey
Ferdinand told the Stick to Football podcast he had been accused of favouring black coaches following the appointments
Ferdinand had called for a Rooney Rule-style law to be introduced in English football that same year in a effort to challenge a 'lack of diversity' in the game.
Speaking on the latest Stick To Football Podcast, brought to you by Sky Bet, Ferdinand revealed the appointments of Ramsey and Hasselbaink had led to claims the club were favouring black coaches.
This included an accusation from some fans that he was bringing the 'black mafia' to QPR.
‘At the time we had a real democratic voting system at QPR. We would go an interview 20 to 30 different manager and whittle it down to the five best we thought would be in the style of QPR,' Ferdinand said.
'The owners would then come in on the interviewing process and have a chat, then we would put it to a vote. At the time of voting Jimmy came out on top, so we employed Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink after Chris Ramsey.
'The press started saying “are you doing it the other way” are you now being racist employing black managers.
'At the time we employed him, Jimmy had the best win ratio of any manager in England. They didn’t look at that, they looked at the fact I had employed another black manager, it started from there.
'Some of the supporters then started saying "he’s bringing the black mafia in"'.
Ferdinand highlighted that Hasselbaink's appointment came with the Dutchman boasting the best win percentage of any manager in England at the time
The former QPR striker stepped down as director of football last year after fans became 'toxic'
Ferdinand added that former players and fans began accusing the club of focusing on employing black staff.
The former QPR star, who scored 80 times in 163 appearances for the club, stressed that the club had a policy of not looking at people's names when recruiting to ensure the best candidate possible would be appointed.
Hasselbaink's appointment came after the former Chelsea striker had led Burton Albion to promotion from League Two, with his departure coming when the Brewers were top of League One the following season.
He would ultimately be one of nine managers employed during Ferdinand's time as director of football at QPR.
Hasselbaink, who was sacked after less than a year in charge, currently works with the England national team as part of an FA scheme devised to enhance diversity.
Ferdinand added that his own departure from QPR came after fans became 'toxic', with the club having continued to struggle since their relegation from the Premier League in 2015.
'It just got too toxic for me, the great thing was the owners did not want me to go,' Ferdinand said.
'With the fans it became toxic and I was thinking, why do I need to take this
'I was getting the blame for a lot of things and I was thinking, I have put my heart and soul into this.
