A Council sports chief has written to the Football Association to complain about a racist joke made at a Bradford dinner by the president of the West Riding FA.

The row follows a joke about ethnic minority births in Bradford by Colin Taylor at a dinner in the Midland Hotel to celebrate the centenary of Bradford and District FA.

Mr Taylor admitted today he should not have made the joke as part of his speech and said he had written to a Council official apologising if anyone had been upset or offended.

But today Bradford City scout, Shazad Parvez, who was at the dinner with his wife Razia, said he had spoken to Lord Mayor Councillor Tony Miller but had not been told of the apology.

He said he had waited for 11 days following the event to see if Mr Taylor had said sorry and he and his wife had been upset and embarrassed.

He said: "It spoiled the evening. I was very offended."

The event was attended by about 200 guests including Coun Miller, Bradford South MP Gerry Sutcliffe and sportsmen and women from the district and county.

The joke came just weeks after Bradford Council announced plans in partnership with the West Riding FA to kick football racism out of the city.

People found guilty of racism face bans from Council-owned pitches under the special charter drawn up by the authority.

Mr Taylor, a retired financial director of Kippax, Leeds, has been heavily involved locally and nationally in campaigning against racism in sport.

But today chairman of the Council's sports and recreation sub-committee Councillor Derek Kettlewell said he had written to David Davies, acting chief executive of the FA about the remark. He told Mr Davies he found the joke "totally unacceptable" bearing in mind the Council's stance in partnership with the West Riding FA.

Mr Taylor said today: "When I made the remark I didn't consider it racial. I have done a lot of work nationally and locally to cut racism out. It was something I saw in a book and in hindsight it shouldn't have happened."

He said his Association was drawing up a policy on the issue and putting it in a handbook, and a meeting of local authorities had been called to discuss the way forward. "I have done a lot of work on this both at a national and local level," he said.

Secretary of Bradford FA Albert Dent, who was also a speaker at the event, said it was the first he had heard of the complaint. He said if he received any complaint it would be considered at the next meeting of Bradford and District FA.

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