Manchester City youth team coach Patrick Vieira has been praised for taking his players off the pitch after an alleged racist incident in a pre-season friendly.

The club’s head of the elite development squad made the decision after 19-year-old French midfielder Seko Fofana was allegedly racially abused by an opponent a minute before half-time during the match against HNK Rijeka in Novigrad, west Croatia.

Vieira, a Senegalese-born former France international, has received the full backing of Piara Powar, executive director at anti-discrimination network Football Against Racism in Europe.

“We are not, in the short term, able to stop this sort of incident happening but to have someone like Patrick Vieira, with his status, do this makes the message very clear,” Powar said.

“The message it sends out is categorical. It is just the sort of thing which will create change.

“We have got to challenge any situation in that regard.

“Where it involves young players and it happens in a friendly match, which is of little consequence, you have to look at damage it might do to them and safeguard them against that.

“We hope it will educate their (Croatia’s) younger players in the future, particularly when they play more teams with more diversity but I am sorry to say I think it will continue.

“Rijeka are professing puzzlement as to why the team were taken off but I don’t think Patrick would have done that without good cause.”

Powar said his organisation, which is active in more than 40 European countries, would be raising the matter with Fifa and he urged City to do the same.

“Under-21 matches are governed by Fifa and I hope Manchester City are going to make a complaint and pursue it,” he added.

City reacted quickly to Tuesday’s alleged incident, which according to the club’s Twitter feed followed moments after Fofana had been sent off for an off the ball clash, issuing a statement to clarify Vieira’s actions.

“Manchester City’s EDS U21 game with HNK Rijeka has been cancelled due to an alleged incident of racial abuse toward the club’s young midfielder Seko Fofana by a member of the opposing team,” said a statement on their website.

“Club representatives in Croatia and in Manchester are liaising with officials, the match organisers and the Croatian Football Association to pursue this matter further.”