Man Utd defender Raphael Varane tells Gianni Infantino 'actions speak louder than words' after FIFA president vows to stamp out racism in football

As racism continues to stain the game in all corners of the world and up to the highest levels of the sport, FIFA president Infantino released a video announcing their plans to tackle the issue at the next FIFA Congress. But while Infantino underlined "FIFA's commitment to eradicate racism", Varane responded by saying those words are simply not enough. The United defender feels concrete action is needed for an issue that still happens week in, week out.

Alongside a video on FIFA's official Instagram page, Infantino is quoted as saying: "We know very well that football unites the world, and especially in our fragmented and divided world, football has a responsibility to unite - now more than ever.

"At the next FIFA Congress which will be held on 17 May in Bangkok, FIFA will present a stance against racism to all our 211 FIFA Member Associations from all over the world. We want to unite the world in this stance against racism because we have seen too many incidents of racism and discrimination to simply call it a reflection of society or offer any other poor excuse.

We have the tools; we need to put them in place, and we need to get the world - the football world, in this instance, united in our fight against racism. On this, the International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination, I want to reiterate FIFA’s commitment to eradicate racism once and for all from football."

The United defender was firm in his response, writing on his Instagram story: "Actions speak louder than words. As supporters have big expectation on us to perform, we as players have big expectations of our leaders to use their power for good. We will be following closely and hoping for action for change."

IG:raphaelvarane

Varane's words ring true amid a calendar year that has already seen several incidents of racist abuse, barely three months in. Real Madrid star Vinicius Junior was again the victim of vile taunts from Atletico Madrid fans - during a game he wasn't even playing in - earlier this month. Mike Maignan forced AC Milan's game with Udinese to be paused after being racially abused in January, and just this week Napoli's Juan Jesus accused Inter defender Francesco Acerbi of a racist remark during their Serie A clash.

As racism permeates the game, from angry fans in person and online to even rival players, it is clear that FIFA have to take proper action in order to do their job - supporting the players. Infantino promised for the automatic forfeiting of matches following the Maignan incident in January, although there is yet to be any tangible progress on laws in that regard.