Blatter aomba radhi, agoma kujiuzulu

Rais wa FIFA, Sepp Blatter

Mshambuliaji wa Liverpool, Suarez anadaiwa kutoa maneno ya kibaguzi dhidi ya mlinzi wa Man United, Patrice Evra

Fifa boss Sepp Blatter has apologised over his controversial comments about racism in football - as a South African minister hailed him as a "champion against discrimination".

Anti-apartheid activist Tokyo Sexwale also called for England captain John Terry to be dropped from the national team until an investigation into claims he racially abused another player is complete.

Terry denies the allegations.

Mr Sexwale spoke out while issuing a staunch defence of football's world governing body president - who he claimed it was "unthinkable" to call a racist.

He also read a statement on behalf of Mr Blatter, who had suggested racist incidents during football matches could be resolved by handshakes at the end of the game.

The statement said: "I am sorry and I regret that my statements earlier this week have resulted in an unfortunate situation.

"I am committed to the fight against racism ... I will not stop until we have stamped racism out of football.

Mr Blatter also rejected calls for him to resign.

Mr Sexwale, who had featured in a photo issued by Mr Blatter in the wake of the allegations against him, followed up his defence of the Fifa boss by turning his focus on the English FA.

He first called for "action" in the case of Liverpool FC striker Luis Suarez, who has been charged with making racist comments towards Manchester United defender Patrice Evra.

He then said: "The most worrisome of the cases is that which involved Chelsea captain John Terry, where he is being investigated for racial remarks he (allegedly) made against (Anton) Ferdinand.

"John Terry is also the captain of the English national team. It is therefore not helpful for any side to have honoured him with the captain's armband whilst the (alleged) indiscretion against another player of another race is still so fresh in mind."

Many high-profile figures in sport and politics have rounded on Mr Blatter after he made

Former England captain David Beckham labelled the comments "appalling" - criticism echoed by Prime Minister David Cameron.

Gordon Taylor, head of the Professional Footballers' Association, told Sky News the comments were "disgraceful".

In two interviews, Mr Blatter appeared to make light of racial abuse between players during matches.

"There is no racism. There is maybe one of the players towards another, he has a word or a gesture which is not the correct one, but also the one who is affected by that, he should say that this is a game," he said.

"We are in a game, and at the end of the game we shake hands, and this can happen, because we have worked so hard against racism and discrimination."

He later issued a statement on Fifa's website claiming he had been "misunderstood".

Mr Blatter said: "What I wanted to express is that, as football players, during a match, you have 'battles' with your opponents, and sometimes things are done which are wrong.

"Having said that, I want to stress again that I do not want to diminish the dimension of the problem of racism in society and in sport. I am committed to fighting this plague and kicking it out of football."

Manchester United defender Rio Ferdinand described Mr Blatter's comments as "condescending" in remarks posted on Twitter.

Shaking hands doesn't resonate with the zero-tolerance approach we encourage and certainly wouldn't resonate with the victim of the abuse.Anti-racism campaign Kick It Out

He tweeted: "If fans shout racist chants but shake our hands is that OK? I feel stupid for thinking that football was taking a leading role against racism.....it seems it was just on mute for a while."

The England player was also critical of Fifa's attempts to clarify Mr Blatter's comments with a statement on their website underneath a picture of the Fifa president with Mr Sexwale.

Mr Ferdinand wrote: "Fifa clear up the blatter comments with a pic of him posing with a black man...I need the hand covering eyes symbol!!"

The Fifa boss replied directly to the footballer saying: "The 'black man' as you call him has a name: Tokyo Sexwale. He has done tremendous work against racism and apartheid in Africa."

The FA-backed anti-racism group Kick It Out was scathing about the remarks, accusing the Fifa president of being "worryingly out of touch".

It said: "Shaking hands doesn't resonate with the zero-tolerance approach we encourage and certainly wouldn't resonate with the victim of the abuse."

Mr Blatter recently won a fourth term as Fifa president, despite allegations of corruption among delegates.