Spurs have vehemently denied the offensive chanting directed at former Arsenal striker Adebayor in Tuesday's quarter-final first leg at the Bernabeu was racist.

But Kick It Out chair Lord Ouseley claimed today that, while not overtly racist, the words, "Your dad washes elephants, your mother's a whore", were a slight on Adebayor's African heritage.

"It's not racist but it is abusive and it has racial undertones to it," Lord Ouseley told BBC Radio Five Live.

"Clearly, Adebayor and his colleagues playing for Real Madrid found it offensive.

"If you asked Spurs' black players if it was something they would find inoffensive if it was sung about them, I think you wouldn't find a different result.

"If they sing it next week in the return game, there'll be problems.

"Because I'm sure the black fans of Spurs are not going to be singing that song."

UEFA confirmed this morning there was "nothing in the delegate's report" from Tuesday night's match that would trigger an investigation from European football's governing body.

But Lord Ouseley said: "We know that Football Against Racism in Europe (FARE), which is the European version of the Kick It Out campaign, are taking up the matter with UEFA.

"So we wait and see."

A club whose supporters are deemed guilty of racist chanting can be fined a minimum of £20,000.

Tottenham have admitted the abuse of former Togo star Adebayor was offensive but a spokesman said: "The chant referred to has been previously discussed with the Crown Prosecution Service, who do not consider it racist.

"We shall continue to remind our fans that we do not tolerate any form of obscene or abusive chanting."

But Lord Ouseley said: "Clubs say, 'We don't tolerate such things', but yet it's still happening.

"No-one is saying this song is overtly racist. But, clearly it is offensive and it's about setting standards.

"We've got problems with Spurs fans about using the 'Y' word, which is offensive and a lot of Jewish people complain about it.

"Spurs say, 'We can't stop our fans singing it, because they see it as a term of endearment and we get that abuse elsewhere'."

He added: "If we're not careful, if we relax, then these things become prevalent again."

Adebayor, who scored twice in Spurs' 4-0 defeat on Tuesday, was singled out by the travelling fans following his three-and-a-half-year spell with Arsenal.

The 27-year-old on-loan Manchester City striker said the fight against racism was ongoing but conceded "we can't do anything to stop it".

He said: "Big players better than me have tried to stop that, but it's not easy at all.

"Racist? We have done everything we can to show the red card to racism. But people are still into it, that's part of life.

"Coming from Africa, I'm just very happy, playing football is like a dream that comes true.

"And I just want to send a big support to all Africa, with what is happening in Libya and what is happening in the Ivory Coast. I've got a lot of family, a lot of friends.

"Racists are always there and we can't do anything to stop it. Samuel Eto'o and big players have spoken about it better than I do, but it's not stopped them."

Lord Ouseley added: "We would urge Emmanuel not to be defeatist and join us to take action, to beat this scourge and to make the playing and watching environment, and atmosphere, better for everyone."