Newcastle defender Steven Taylor has apologised for any offence caused by a tweet to black teammates which said 'it's always good to see you guys smiling'.
Taylor's message included a picture of four black men, one of whom seemed to be an African tribesman.
It was reported that the tweet, which has now been deleted, was in response to teasing of his attempt to learn French by teammate Massadio Haidara, 20.
Taylor included the Twitter accounts of fellow Newcastle players Papiss Cisse, 28, Moussa Sissoko, 24, and Vurnon Anita in his reply to Haidara.
The message was met with fury on Twitter by football fans. Dominic Campbell tweeted: 'How, in any world, would that not cause offence? In what reality do you live in where that was acceptable?'
Massadio Haidara's insistence it was just banter fell on deaf ears.
Haidara tweeted: '(It) is just banter. He joked with me two minutes before.'
Taylor, 27, retweeted Haidara's explanation and added 'Apologies if my tweet offended anybody.'
It was thought Taylor will now be reminded of his responsibilities as a Newcastle player by club officials.
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Apology: Steven Taylor deleted the offensive tweet and sent an apology soon after
'Foolish': Anti-racism campaigners said Steven Taylor's actions were foolish but not racist
Speaking to the Telegraph, the charity Show Racism the Red Card condemned his actions.
'Steven Taylor’s behaviour is foolish on his part and while he may have meant it as a joke he clearly does not know how offensive those images are to some people,' said Ged Grebby, chief executive of the Show Racism the Red Card campaign.
'I don’t think Steven is racist. He has been a big supporter of our campaign for years, but he has to understand that things like this are offensive.
'It is a joke between team-mates, but it was an ill-advised one and he is right to apologise for the offence he may have caused people who saw it. We had a big backlash of people offended by the images that Steven tweeted.
'Footballers should always be aware that images and comments that they don’t mean to be offensive, can offend people
'It is the same sort of crude racial stereotyping that is seized upon by the English Defence League and other far-right organisations and it can be very hurtful to those who are on the receiving end of it.
'I’m glad he has removed the picture, but modern technology means it has been seen by thousands of people and there will be kids out there who may now think that sort of humour is acceptable.'
MailOnline has approached the club for comment.
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Defence: Massadio Haidara defended his teammate saying it was 'banter'
(clockwise from top left) Papiss Cisse, Vurnon Anita, Massadio Haidara and Moussa Sissoko were included in the message which read 'it's always good to see you guys smiling'
Culled from Dailymail
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