The demand was made as a table of white youngsters seated nearby were allowed to settle up after eating.
Five AFC Bournemouth players were stunned when a duty manager told them to pay up front because of “the way you lot look”.
When they refused, staff claimed they were being “disruptive” and called the police.
Officers arrived at the restaurant but took no action after the players, including £2,000-a-week first-team regulars Anton Robinson, Liam Feeney and Marvin Bartley, agreed to leave.
Pizza Hut last night apologised to the League One stars and admitted they had been treated “very shabbily” but insisted there was no racism.
However, midfielder Mr Robinson, 24, said later: “The only thing that was different was the colour of our skins.”
Revealing his outrage on Facebook, he added: “I asked ‘has anyone else had to pay before they eat?’. He replied ‘no, but it’s the way you lot look’. I was gonna tear the place up but then it would just prove that he was right not to give us our food. The fact we left without even raising our voices will count against him.”
And Mr Bartley, 23, fumed: “It was 100 per cent a race issue. If it wasn’t then I would like to know what it was.” He said the manager told them he was asking them to pay because some people had earlier run off without doing so.
The defender added: “There was a bigger group of white lads aged about 17 and 18 in there and I asked if they had to pay and he said he wasn’t going to answer that.
“I went over and asked the group myself whether they had to pay in advance and they said they hadn’t.
“We were smartly dressed in jeans and jumpers or cardigans and the other group wore tracksuits and hooded tops.
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“I asked if it was because we were black and he again said he wasn’t going to answer and we would have to pay or he would call the police.
“I told him to call them as we hadn’t done anything wrong. The police turned up and asked us what had happened. One officer spoke to the other customers and asked them how we had behaved and everybody was fine with us. Some of the lads went somewhere else but I lost my appetite and went home.”
The group, also including another black player Mitchell Nelson, 21, and white team-mate Shaun Cooper, 27, had gone to Pizza Hut for lunch last Thursday.
Midfielder Mr Feeney, 23, commented: “The fact that there were other groups of white lads younger than us who weren’t asked to pay in advance didn’t really leave anything else for it to be.”
Their treatment has sparked anger among anti-racism groups.
Alison Vaughan, of football campaign group Kick It Out, said: “We would expect that such a high-profile company would ensure all staff are fully trained on issues of equality.”
And Dorset Race Equality Council boss Adnan Chaudry said: “If Pizza Hut is saying that it wasn’t racially motivated then I find that incredible.”
A football club spokesman said: “In this day and age, it is upsetting to hear that people are treated differently because of the colour of their skin.”
But a Pizza Hut spokesman insisted the incident was not racist.
He added: “We have had a spate of customers leaving without paying so were advised by the police to ask people to pay for their meal before dining.
“We have been doing this at our discretion, and in this case the situation was poorly handled. We have contacted the customers concerned to apologise for any offence caused.”
Daily Mirror
