Schalke financial officer Peter Peters has apologized after he suggested Kevin-Prince Boateng left Milan because of racist incidents.

The board member had claimed on Monday that the attacker decided to join the Bundesliga club because of “too many racist incidents in Italy”.

However, in a statement today, he has since retracted those remarks.

“A statement made by Schalke finance director Peter Peters regarding the transfer of Kevin-Prince Boateng caused something of a stir on Monday, a misunderstanding that Peters deeply regrets,” a notice on the club’s official website read.

“Having spoken to our general manager, Horst Heldt, my initial assumption proved to be completely wrong. He confirmed that racist incidents were definitely not the reason for Kevin's move to Schalke.

“As soon as I'm back at Schalke I will speak to Kevin personally and apologize for what I said. It was certainly not my intention to cast false aspersions on AC Milan or the Italian fans.”