English football has been rocked by a fresh racism scandal after black and Asian referees revealed the scale of abuse and prejudice that, they say, is holding them back.

A dossier compiled by match officials, and seen by the Observer, alleges that racism in the Football Association’s refereeing system is undermining efforts by black and Asian people to reach the highest levels of the game.

The diversity report submitted to the FA contains racist comments allegedly made by the observers who assess referees for promotion to the higher leagues. The FA is now facing calls for an urgent inquiry.

Tony Burnett, chief executive of the anti-racism charity Kick It Out, said: “The lack of diversity in refereeing is our biggest failure in football. Black and Asian people are not getting through to elite refereeing.”