The Football Association gave Roy Hodgson their full backing on Thursday after the England manager was forced to apologise for a joke he made about a “space monkey” that was designed to prompt his players to pass the ball to the in-form Andros Townsend.

Hodgson made the quip at half-time during Tuesday’s 2-0 World Cup qualifying win over Poland.

The incident was leaked to the media from the dressing room and the use of the word “monkey” sparked a flurry of responses from anti-racism campaigners.