I’m going out on a limb here and saying that when he was younger the thoughts of people different in skin colour didn’t factor into the equation. He came from a generation who were told the British civilised the world and they should all be bloody well thankful for it.
Apart from that though he was the one that headed up the inquiry into sexism and racism in the FA. He should really have known that the words he was using weren’t acceptable.
This is a direct lift from his Wiki profile
While FA chairman, Clarke had to lead the organisation's response to allegations of historical sexual abuse in football, and of racism and bullying in relation to the Mark Sampson and Eniola Aluko cases. In October 2017, Clarke announced a "fundamental" review of the FA after admitting it had "lost the trust of the public" following the Mark Sampson scandal.