FIFA president Sepp Blatter has made it clear that he is committed to the fight against racism in football.
Earlier on Wednesday, Blatter had appeared to imply that he thought there was no racism problem in the game.
"I would like to make it very clear, I am committed to the fight against racism and any type of discrimination in football and in society," read a statement on FIFA's website. "I have been personally leading this battle against racism in football, which FIFA has been fighting against throughout the past years through campaigns in all of our competitions such as the 'Say no to racism' campaign.
"I also know that racism unfortunately continues to exist in football, and I have never denied this. I know that it is a big problem in society, and that it also affects sport. I strongly believe that we should continue to fight all together against racism on and off the field of play, in order to eradicate this plague."
The news comes on the day that the Football Association charged Liverpool's Luis Suarez with allegedly making racist comments towards Manchester United's Patrice Evra during a match last month.
