Greg Clarke resignation will not change things at Football Association, says Joleon Lescott

Former Manchester City defender Nedum Onuoha said Clarke’s comments were “simply unacceptable”.

“It’s outrageous to be honest – it sounds like something from 20, 30 years ago,” he told 5 Live. “That language has been inappropriate for decades now so it shows in some ways that perhaps he’s lived in an echo chamber where things like this are acceptable to say.”

Match of the Day presenter and former England striker Gary Lineker told ITV’s Good Morning Britain the organisation was full of “lots of old white men” and said he believes real change can only be implemented if the FA, English Football League and Premier League work together.

Former England winger John Barnes said the issue of racism needed to be tackled by society as a whole, not just football.

“A lot of people are now looking at this problem as if it’s unique to football,” he told BBC Radio Wales.

“But if you look at the higher echelons of any institution, a lot of white men over 50 have the same ideas. This is the way society is and this is what we have to tackle, society as a whole.”

Former FA chairman David Bernstein said Clarke’s comments highlighted the FA’s need for structural change.

Bernstein was among a group who this month launched a manifesto for change called ‘Saving Our Beautiful Game’, calling for changes at the FA as well as an independent regulator of English football.

“The FA has been resistant to serious change over the years and frankly if you have an organisation that is not modern, that has not been updated, then this sort of thing is much more likely to happen,” he told 5 Live.

“I hope there are progressive people across the board who feel strongly about this. I think the FA has to think very carefully about the sort of person who is brought forward to lead the organisation next time.”

Clarke’s comments come just two weeks after the FA revealed its new Football Leadership Diversity Code to tackle racial inequality in the English game.

Onuora thinks the code is a “step in the right direction” but says this incident highlights the need for further change.

“It’s not the answer to everything,” he said. “Behaviours will have to change as well and ways of discussing these things, as we have seen today.

“But it’s a step in the right direction and that’s what the code is meant to represent.”

Former Manchester United and England striker Andy Cole remains optimistic things are moving in the right direction and says people should wait to see whether the new code makes a positive impact.

“We need to make progress now,” he told BBC Breakfast. “I’m hoping, seeing what we are going through now, that within six months there will be progress, and I want to see where we are at.”