John Terry and Luis Suárez incidents spark prime minister's concern that game is being dragged back to 'bad old days'
David Cameron is to hold a summit on racism in football in an attempt to ensure that the sport is not dragged back to the "bad old days" by recent race controversies, Jeremy Hunt, the culture secretary, said on Sunday.
The event will take place this month and, although details have not been finalised, it is expected to include player representatives and senior figures from bodies including the Football Association and the Premier League.
On Sunday afternoon the Liverpool striker Luis Suárez issued an apology via the club's website over his refusal on Saturday to shake the hand of Patrice Evra, the Manchester United player he racially abused last autumn. It read: "I made a mistake and I regret what happened. I should have shaken Patrice Evra's hand before the game and I want to apologise."
Hunt said Cameron had convened the meeting because he wanted to stop football going backwards on race issues.
Hunt told the BBC's Andrew Marr Show: "I would say that, as a society, one of the main reasons we have made huge strides in changing attitudes to racial discrimination is because of the changes in football.
"The lesson of the last couple of months is that you can never be complacent and the prime minister is very, very concerned to make sure that we don't go back to the bad old days but also that we are absolutely on our mettle to make sure that the football authorities and the government continue to do everything we can to stamp out this problem."
At a charity reception last month Cameron said campaigns such as Show Racism the Red Card and Let's Kick Racism out of Football had made a real difference. But he said he was concerned by recent events in the sport.
"My message is clear. We will not tolerate racism in Britain. It has absolutely no place in our society. And where it exists, we will kick it out," Cameron said.
"Our football governing bodies, clubs and footballers themselves have a vital role to play as role models in this respect. It's vital too that more coaches and managers from black and minority ethnic groups make it to the top of the game and I know the Premier League among others are working hard to try to make this happen. They will have the full support of this government in using football as a force for good in our society."
Hunt said that he found the failure of Suárez to shake hands with Evra "incredibly depressing". Suárez was back in action at Old Trafford after an eight-match ban.
Hunt also said he supported the decision of the FA to remove John Terry from the England captaincy pending the outcome of his trial for the alleged racial abuse of Anton Ferdinand. The decision prompted the resignation of the England manager, Fabio Capello.
"It's a decision for the FA but I did support them when they made that decision because I think sometimes the principle is more important than any one person," Hunt said. "But John Terry is innocent until proven guilty and we must wait and see what the courts decide."