Fare is taking the unusual step of responding to the offensive comments made by Lord Sugar about the Senegal team.

We have worked hard to raise awareness of racism, sexism and homophobia in Russia and comments by prominent figures in the UK or anywhere else during this time should receive no less scrutiny than the actions of fans in Russia.

Piara Powar, Executive Director of the Fare network, said from Moscow:

“Alan Sugar has deliberately and with racist intent sought to demean a World Cup football team in the middle of a global celebration that Africans have as much a right to be a part of as any other continent. And as if words were not damaging enough he has illustrated the point with a graphic.

“This ignorance and stereotyping of a whole race, a continent of over 1.3 billion people, is disgraceful. It is particularly damaging coming from a prominent public figure, a member of the House of Lords. It shows the attitudes that people continue to hold and how they see football as the space through which to air them.

“We should now assume that the black candidates on Lord Sugar's TV show that did not advance to becoming the Apprentice, all of the African players he didn’t sign while chairman of Tottenham Hotspur, and many other decisions he has made in his business life were informed by his view that Africans are no more than beach sellers.”