Prime Minister David Cameron has said that FIFA president Sepp Blatter's comments on racism were "appalling".
Blatter caused widespread indignation on Wednesday when he suggested in an interview that any racism on the football pitch should be resolved by a handshake after the match.
The 75-year-old then released a statement to say that his comments had been misunderstood.
"It's appalling to suggest that racism in any way should be accepted as part of the game," said Cameron.
"A lot of work has gone into ridding racism from all aspects of our society, including football. As many of our top sports stars have rightly pointed out, now is not the time for complacency."
A number of people from the footballing world, including PFA chief Gordon Taylor, have since called for Blatter to resign from his post.
