MIDO has launched a withering attack on the Football Association, accusing them of issuing an “invitation” for Newcastle supporters to indulge in Islamophobic abuse during Saturday’s Tees-Tyne derby with Middlesbrough.

For the second season in a row, the Middlesbrough striker was subjected to terrorist taunts from a small section of Newcastle’s visiting support.

Last season, the FA wrote to Newcastle, urging them to take steps to prevent a repetition of the chants, but refused to punish the club despite the fact that no banning orders were subsequently issued.

Mido feels that effectively gave Newcastle fans a green light to repeat the abuse last weekend, and the Egypt international has urged the FA to produce a much stronger response this time around.

“They kept chanting disgusting words, racist words about Islam, and unfortunately this is the second time the same fans have done this,”

said Mido, in an interview with Egyptian television.

“It has happened again as the English FA did nothing the first time. I considered this as an invitation from the FA for the Newcastle supporters to repeat such shameful acts.

“I can assure you that nothing is going to happen this time again. The FA said that they will be investigating the issue, and will make use of the latest technology to stop such racial abuse of players.

“But I feel that nothing will happen.

I am asking the FA to take serious action to stop such a thing. These chants are not directed at me as a person, but they are directed at Islam as a religion.”

Anti-racism campaign group Kick It Out also criticised the FA in the wake of Saturday’s incident, claiming the governing body needed to send out a much stronger signal to indicate that Islamophobia would not be tolerated.

The FA have launched an investigation into last weekend’s events, and have contacted Newcastle and Middlesbrough officials, as well as Cleveland police, who can bring criminal proceedings against anyone suspected of racial abuse. However, FA officials are extremely unlikely to punish Newcastle despite the continued misbehaviour of a minority of their fans.

An FA spokesman last night said: “Last season we wrote to Newcastle and made it quite clear we did not want a repetition of this incident.

We have written to them again and we are awaiting their response.

“We condemn any racist abuse or chanting and we are determined to stamp it out.

We will also help focus on identifying the individuals and support the club and police in taking the strongest possible action against them.”

Newcastle have already confirmed their willingness to work with both the FA and police in an attempt to identify anyone involved in Islamophobic abuse, and the club have repeated their criticism of the chanting that accompanied Mido’s arrival as a second-half substitute in last weekend’s game.

In a statement that will also appear in the match programme for Saturday’s game with Stoke, the directors and management of Newcastle said: “Following events at last Saturday’s Tyne-Tees derby against Middlesbrough, Newcastle United would like to remind supporters that the club will not tolerate any form of offensive chanting at matches.

“The club will fully co-operate with the Football Association and other authorities following an incident in relation to chanting aimed at Mido at the Riverside Stadium and will support any subsequent action taken against the minority involved.

“At Newcastle United we do not judge any individual on the grounds of race, religion or beliefs. There is no place for such prejudice in football or society.

“As a club, we are proud of the work we do in the community, actively supporting such organisations as Kick It Out and Show Racism The Red Card.”

Meanwhile, Mido also used his Egyptian television interview to reveal that his long-term future remains uncertain ahead of the transfer window.

Having come close to joining Wigan in the summer, the striker, who has only made four Premier League starts all season, has once again been linked with a move to the JJB Stadium at the turn of the year. He insists he has no concrete plans to leave Middlesbrough, but admits he has some thinking to do over the course of the next two months.

“(Steve) Bruce wanted to sign me before, but I haven’t decided anything as of yet,”

he said. “All I want to do now is to score goals and improve my game. But I will decide my future in the next transfer window.”