Manchester City midfielder Yaya Toure has said that he is "very disappointed" with FIFA's decision to disband its anti-racism task force.
World football's governing body announced on Sunday that the FIFA Task Force Against Racism and Discrimination had achieved its mission and would therefore be wound up, just three years after being created.
However, Toure, who was a consultant to the task force, accused FIFA of complacency and questioned the timing of the decision in the build-up to the 2018 World Cup in Russia.
"When I received the letter telling me the FIFA task force was to be discontinued I was very disappointed. The letter listed the good work that had been carried out as a result of the task force's advice and recommendations," he wrote in a statement on his personal website.
"So my question is, after failing to deal with racism sufficiently for decades - why stop when something is beginning to work? Are FIFA being complacent ahead of a World Cup in Russia? This makes no sense. The task force brought together the expertise of campaigners, football administrators and players. It was a resource that gave FIFA the expertise they clearly did not have before.
"As a group, the task force could help shape and put in place the most effective initiatives to keep players and fans safe. The task force could question when FIFA were not delivering on its promise to do as much as they could in this area. My only hope is that FIFA have thought this through. The letter I received does not fill me with confidence. It will be the fans and players that suffer if FIFA do not get this right."
Meanwhile, at club level Toure continues to find himself frozen out of the first team by City boss Pep Guardiola.
Barney Corkhill
