"The biggest change we need in football is some kind of protocol for issues that have come to pass over the past year," he said, when asked about club managers such as Kenny Dalglish and Andre Villas-Boas publicly defending their players Luis Suarez and John Terry while racism investigations were ongoing.

"We haven't got any definitive outlines on what should happen when there are incidents of discrimination, especially racial abuse. It's very much a gray area. The defenses go up at the club, they have their own brand and their own assets to protect.

"This is all before official investigation and procedure is taking place to ascertain whether that is valid support of the player or club. I think the first thing we need to do is to have a protocol where everyone knows exactly what should happen in these incidents, exactly what behaviors are expected of the people involved, of the club employees and of the press, as well."

He said the incident involving referee Mark Clattenburg, who was accused of racially abusing a Chelsea player before being cleared, showed both the improvements football has made and yet how far it still has to go.

"Procedurally it was a real step forward: something was claimed, it was reported, it was investigated and conclusion was drawn. I think that was outstanding, it was done promptly as well," he said.

"But because the whole issue went into the press and speculative domain instantly, there were questions that were being proffered and answered that people didn't really have the grounds to answer.

"A lot of speculation was drawn and it's possible and plausible that Mark Clattenburg's character had been tainted on the back of that. I believe we need a definitive outline on the protocol in such incidents."

Cultural differences

It has emerged that the FA is considering cultural lessons for foreign players in order to prevent a repeat of the Suarez-Patrice Evra case last season, where the Liverpool striker was banned eight matches for constantly taunting the Manchester United defender with the term "negrito" during a match.

Liverpool's lawyers argued that it was an acceptable, and often affectionate, term in Suarez's native Uruguay -- but the FA ruled that it had much more negative connotations in Britain.

"There is very much a line of thought that we expect people to know what the levels of acceptability and tolerance are over here when it comes to abuse, discrimination etc. I don't think we should do that," Clarke said.

"There shouldn't be any gray areas. If we're expecting people to adhere to certain values and a disciplinary schedule then it's our duty to ensure they know what those values are. It's an excellent idea to get rid of any ambiguities for players coming from overseas who may not be familiar with our values."

A new era?

Ouseley, the first black person to lead Britain's Commission for Racial Equality, is planning to stand down from his role on the FA Council, according to the Guardian.

The 67-year-old has been frustrated by an apparent lack of progress by the ruling body. He would be "a big loss" to football's anti-racism cause, Clarke said.

"But that opens the door for somebody else to fill that space. His experience will definitely be a loss, but it doesn't have to be a loss to the initiative -- the ideals and the ethos can still be carried forward. It's an opportunity for the FA to carry on their diversity principles."