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

The head of the club's elite development squad made the decision after 19-year-old French midfielder Seko Fofana was allegedly racially abused by an opponent during a match against HNK Rijeka on Tuesday.

Vieira, a Senegalese-born former France international, was backed by Piara Powar, executive director at anti-discrimination network Fare.

Powar said: "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.

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

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

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

"If it was bad enough to take the team off I would hope they would make a complaint," he said. "We will alert Fifa to this. But Fifa's reaction to incidents reported in the World Cup this summer was to turn a blind eye to it."

City reacted quickly to the alleged incident, which according to the club's Twitter feed came moments after Fofana was red-carded for an off-the-ball clash.

A statement said: "Manchester City's U21 game with HNK Rijeka has been cancelled due to an alleged incident of racial abuse toward Seko Fofana by a member of the opposing team.

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

City will continue to evaluate the situation now the youth squad has returned home, as they were scheduled to do, but it is too early to say what the next course of action will be. It is understood the club fully support Vieira in making the decision he did.

HNK Rijeka appear to have distanced them-selves from the claims.

A statement on their website - which now seems to have been removed - read: "Manchester City coach Patrick Vieira entered the field, something was discussed with the referee, and then to the amazement of a well-filled stadium he took his team off the pitch. What are the reasons? They are known only to him."

Neither Fifa nor the Croatian Football Association have yet responded to the incident.