Former England captain David Beckham has branded Sepp Blatter's comments on racism as 'appalling'.
The President of FIFA earlier this week downplayed the impact of racism in football, claiming any on the field issues could be sorted with a handshake.
The comments have sparked outrage throughout football, with Beckham the latest to have his say.
"I think the comments were appalling," said Beckham. "A lot of people have said that.
"I don't think the comments were very good for this game. [Racism] can't be swept under the carpet and it can't be sorted out with just a handshake."
"I have no power over who goes or stays within Fifa and I don't wish to have, but there obviously is racism throughout soccer and life," Beckham added.
"Being around the England team I have seen the FA do a lot of work towards kicking racism out of the game, they have made huge strides in the last 10 or 15 years but it is still there."
Blatter made his comments concerning racism in the game during two interviews on Wednesday, claiming no such prejudice existed in the game.
"I would deny it. There is no racism," he said.
"There is maybe one of the players towards another - he has a word or a gesture which is not the correct one.
"But the one who is affected by that, he should say: 'This is a game. 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."
"There is no racism [on the field], but maybe there is a word or gesture that is not correct," Blatter said. "The one affected by this should say this is a game and shake hands."
However a Blatter statement later read: "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.
"I have been personally leading this battle against racism in football, which Fifa has been fighting through campaigns such as Say No to Racism.
"My comments have been misunderstood. 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.
"But, normally, at the end of the match, you apologise to your opponent if you had a confrontation during the match, you shake hands, and when the game is over, it is over.
"I'm not saying about discrimination but foul language, foul play," he added on Thursday. "If you have foul play [when] the match is over you shake hands
"But, having said that, I go on with my determination and energy to go against all discrimination and racism."
PFA chief Gordon Taylor is calling for the resignation of Blatter, labelling his comments as outrageous.
When asked if Blatter should resign, Taylor said: "Without a shadow of doubt.
"He doesn't understand how divisive racism is - it creates 'them and us'.
"Football should be about pulling people together in society, that is what we are working hard on in England and why we are educating children, racism is caught not taught, we want a world where nobody even thinks about prefacing what they say with the colour of a person's skin.
"But when you have the head of the world body saying that anyone on the receiving end on the pitch of racism should just treat it as part of the game and shake hands, it is outrageous and he is just not with it."
Kick it Out, who campaign to challenge discrimination, have said the 75-year-old's idea of shaking hands to help deal with racism shows how out of touch the Swiss administrator is with the game.
"These comments are worryingly out of touch.
"Shaking hands to compensate for a racial slur is not what the game has signed up to, and trivialises the work of campaigns like Kick It Out, which has been in the vanguard of rooting out discrimination and unacceptable behaviour in our game for the best part of two decades.
"High-profile incidents have brought the issue of racism back into sharp focus. But complaints are still being lodged at grass roots level. Shaking hands doesn't resonate with the zero-tolerance approach we encourage and certainly wouldn't resonate with the victim of the abuse."
Manchester United defender Rio Ferdinand has taken to Twitter to express his displeasure at Blatter's comments.
Ferdinand's brother Anton is currently in the middle of a racism row involving John Terry, in which the England captain has been accused of making a racist remark in the direction of the Queens Park Rangers player.
Ferdinand, 33, said: "Tell me I have just read Blatter's comments wrong... if not then I am astonished.
"Your comments on racism are so condescending it's almost laughable," he told the FIFA chief. "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," he added.
As well as the case involving Terry, Liverpool's Luis Suarez has been charged by the Football Association on Wednesday for making references to the ethnic origin and race of Manchester United full-back Patrice Evra.
Premier League chief executive Richard Scudamore followed a statement on behalf of the 20 top-flight clubs by dismissing Blatter's belief that racism doesn't exist in the game.
"Racism exists in the world, racism certainly still exists in football, albeit reduced," he said.
"There are still issues, of course there are and we're not complacent about that, but I think it's a bit of a stretch to say it doesn't exist because it does."
"Everybody in the game in England understands any form of racism is totally unacceptable," a Premier League statement read.
"There are still issues, as there are in society, so with our partners, Kick It Out, the PFA and The FA, we must remain committed and vigilant to maintaining the standards we have set and confronting any incidents that occur.
"There is no place for discrimination in football and we will continue to strive to eliminate it."
Blatter was re-elected for a fourth term as head of FIFA after running unopposed during June's election, despite allegations of corruption which surrounded the voting process for 2018 and 2022 World Cup finals.
