FIFA president Sepp Blatter says Kevin-Prince Boateng, the AC Milan star, was wrong to walk off the pitch after he was racially abused by fans in a friendly match last week.

The man in charge of world football believes Boateng’s response – which prompted a walk out by his teammates – was tantamount to “running away”.

Mr Blatter is wrong. Football’s governing body has been running away from racism for years.

Instead of cracking down on the appalling behaviour of a small minority, Fifa has sat on its hands talking tough while doing as little as possible.

Mr Blatter is the man who provoked an outcry in 2011 when he opined: “There is no racism in football.” Consequently, he has no credibility on the subject.

Football authorities have been given countless chances to sort out racism. Last month, a Uefa panel could have sent out a strong message after disgraceful abuse was directed towards England Under 21 players during a match with Serbia.

Instead, the disciplinary panel fined the Serbian FA only £65,000 – £15,000 less than Nicklas Bendtner was forced to pay for displaying a logo on his boxer shorts at the European Championships.

If the authorities cannot – or will not – sort out racism in the sport then the responsibility devolves to the players.

Kevin-Prince Boateng complained to the referee about the racist chats directed at him. The referee could have stopped the match. He did nothing.

We applaud the principled stance taken by Boateng and his fellow players last week. Hopefully, their actions will encourage Mr Blatter to take the issue more seriously – but we have our doubts.