FIFA can only show its determination to stamp out discrimination in football if it encourages referees to stop games after racist incidents, France great Lilian Thuram has told AFP.
World football's governing body announced earlier this week it is investigating allegations that Paul Pogba and Ousmane Dembele were targets of monkey chants by home fans during France's 3-1 win over World Cup hosts Russia on Tuesday in St. Petersburg.
Thuram, a 1998 World Cup and Euro 2000 winner whose foundation aims to end racism in football, believes more radical action must be taken, notably at this summer's tournament.
"Is there a real will from FIFA, from the Russian Federation and society in general, to resolve this problem?" Thuram said. "How to explain that things don't change radically? For how long have we been talking about racism in stadiums? When will a referee stop a game or the players walk off the pitch when there are racist incidents?
"If this happens during the World Cup, will the referee stop the game? I doubt it. We will only see how serious FIFA are if they decide to stop a game."
Manchester United's Pogba -- who scored one goal and set up another in the victory -- and Barcelona's Dembele were abused by a section of the crowd in St. Petersburg, French media reported.
An AFP photographer confirmed Dembele was abused while taking two corners and Pogba was targeted in the 73rd minute.
"The most important thing is to thank the photographers and TV viewers who denounced those acts," Thuram said.
The allegations had provoked a swift response from France's Minister for Sport, Laura Flessel.
"Racism has no place on football pitches," Flessel wrote on Twitter. "We have to act in unison at a European and international level in order to stop this inadmissible behaviour."