( CNN ) -- French football has been hit a 'race quota ' row with the country 's sports minister demanding clarification from the national federation of their policy . Reports allege that senior officials have secretly approved limiting the number of black and Arab trainees to 30 per cent from the age of 12-13 and that national team coach Laurent Blanc had approved the quota . Both the federation and Blanc issued denials Friday but minister Chantal Jouanno is seeking guarantees that there are genuine equal opportunities . `` Discrimination has no place in sport , whether it 's in the stands or in the training academies , '' Ms Jouanno said . `` I take note of the French football federation 's denial about the existence of such a policy and I invite it to very quickly shed light on the allegations in the article , '' she added in a statement released to CNN . The French investigative website Mediapart broke the story about a supposed secret quota Thursday . Quoting `` scandalized '' sources within the French Football Federation ( FFF ) , it said the alleged directive from its National Technical Direction ( DTN ) had already been sent out to training academies . It further alleged that senior FFF members , including Blanc , had knowledge of the quota . `` A genuine segregation applied to football , '' it said . But Philippe Tournon , media officer for the French national team , said Laurent Blanc was outraged by the allegation . `` [ He ] categorically denies that he could have supported selections based on ethnicity or skin color , '' Mr Tournon said . `` It goes against his philosophy . '' FFF president Fernand Duchaussoy also denied the reports Friday . `` I heard about this on Thursday with a great deal of surprise , I was taken aback . I thought it was a joke in bad taste . These are terrible accusations , '' he told AFP . Race became a controversial issue again in French football after the shambolic performance of the national team in last year 's World Cup , where the players briefly went on strike . Accusations were made that the team , which had six black players , had mutinied in South Africa because of race . It contrasted with the euphoria around the 1998 World Cup winning-side when the nation adored its multi-ethnic team of `` Blacks , Blancs , Beurs '' - blacks , whites and Arabs .
French football hit by 'race quota ' row at its national training centers . Report alleges black and Arab players to be restricted to 30 per cent at age 12-13 . French football federation and national coach Laurent Blanc deny accusations .