Kevin joins FIFA discrimination task force

Kevin-Prince Boateng has joined FIFA's anti-discrimination task force after meeting FIFA president Sepp Blatter on Friday to discuss racism in the sport.

The AC Milan player in January walked off the pitch in a friendly match with Pro Patria in protest at racist abuse, has joined FIFA's anti-discrimination task force.

"When I left the pitch against Pro Patria, I know it wasn't the right decision but at that moment I was very angry and very emotional," he told Blatter, according to a FIFA statement.

"I spoke to the referee about it very early on, but after 26 minutes I just lost it and walked off the pitch.

"It shouldn't be the decision of the player, though. I think that referees should perhaps have more power in this area and they should take their courage in their own hands.

"But it's not easy and I realise that."

The ex-Ghana international said he and Blatter discussed the matter of sanctions, including points deductions, for teams whose supporters are guilty of racist behaviour.

"I'm a player and so I know that a points deduction might not go down well," said Boateng.

"But we need to be very strict in this domain and, if there are rules, we have to apply them. We absolutely need to have a real threat of sanctions."

"I think we can change it. It is not only the task force, even ordinary people can help. The media, everybody has to work together."

Blatter agrees that stronger sanctions are needed.

"I don't think games behind closed doors or financial sanctions are effective," he said.

"In my opinion, we need to deduct points or even eliminate a team from a competition. It's tough, and not everybody will agree, but it's the only way to seriously intimidate and stop the troublemakers."

"Unfortunately, our extremely popular sport - which involves nearly a billion people throughout the world - is affected by several scourges: violence, cheating, doping, match-fixing and discrimination," he said.

"At FIFA, we try to tackle all of them, but the question of discrimination angers me in particular. It's abhorrent and we have to combat this evil, but it's difficult to find the adequate response."