Double Olympic champion Mo Farah claimed yesterday that teammate Andy Vernon had questioned Farah’s nationality after he won European 10,000 metres gold last summer.

Farah, who beat Vernon to victory at the European Championships in Zurich, alleged that his teammate suggested he did not deserve the title as he was not European.

Farah made the claims when he was questioned yesterday about a Twitter spat the pair had earlier in the week.

The 31-year-old, who was born in Mogadishu in Somalia before moving to Britain as a child, has apologised for the social media row, but admitted their past contributed to his frustrations boiling over.

Vernon has admitted making the comments in Zurich, claiming that it was “a joke” among people “having a laugh.”

Farah said: “We were sitting down together and there were a number of staff and athletes there too. One comment he made, which I didn’t really like, was to say that he should have won the gold.

“I was like: ‘What, the gold should have been given to you?’ Because he was the only European guy? You can’t say something like that. I was kind of biting my tongue at the time.

“I don’t know what he meant, but at that point it hurt me. But I moved on. That was private.”

Vernon responded: “If he did take it out of context it wasn’t meant that way and I apologise.”

A British Athletics spokesperson said the body would remind Vernon “of his responsibilities as a British team member.”