Johan Cruyff has attempted to explain an allegedly racist comment he made toward Edgar Davids by claiming he was referring to the multicultural makeup of Ajax, the club whose supervisory board the pair sits on, reports Ewan Murray. Another board member, Steven ten Have, alleged that Cruyff said to Davids: "You are only on the supervisory board because you are black."

Cruyff has not denied making such a statement, but sought to put his remark in context. "Ajax is a multicultural club and we have found that many talented immigrant players quit when they reach puberty.

"So we wanted to tackle this problem with someone from the same background, who had come through it. And that was Edgar Davids. During one of our fights I pointed that out to him. But it had nothing to do with his skin color."

Davids said: "I never said, and I want to emphasize that, that Johan Cruyff was a racist, despite this unfortunate remark on his part. I would also like to make clear I have deep respect for the soccer player Johan Cruyff."