The International Olympic Committee (IOC) will consider scrapping the international leg of the Beijing Olympic torch relay as a result of the anti-Chinese protests.
Police arrest a pro-Tibet demonstrator in Paris yesterday
IOC president Jacques Rogge said the issue will be discussed by the organisation’s executive board on Friday.
Mr Rogge said he was “deeply saddened” by the violent protests in London and Paris and was concerned about the torch relay in San Francisco. He said the issue must be discussed by the ruling executive board.
China has denounced protesters who upstaged the torch relays, with state media describing them as "saboteurs bent on wrecking Games goodwill".
Officials in Paris yesterday were forced to hustle the Olympic torch on to a bus when protesters against Chinese policy in Tibet tried to seize it. In London the day before, activists waving Tibetan flags and shouting "Shame on China" also disrupted the event.
China condemned the disruptions as "vile" and, in a departure from past reticence, state-run television and newspapers showed the protests and upset spectators.
"We express our strong condemnation of the deliberate disruption of the Olympic torch relay by 'Tibetan independence' separatist forces," a foreign ministry spokeswoman said. A Beijing Olympics spokesman said the Paris demonstrations were "blasphemy".
The torch relay disruptions follow unrest in Tibet that China has said was the work of the Dalai Lama, the exiled Tibetan Buddhist leader. He has repeatedly denied China's claims.
Beijing's subsequent crackdown in Tibet and nearby areas has galvanised international groups, who are calling for the mountain region's autonomy or independence.
The IOC press chief, Kevan Gosper, said he was "desperately disappointed" by the chaotic scenes in Paris, which could well be repeated in San Francisco, where the torch heads next.
"When people get to the point where they will break lines, take the torch, try to put the torch out, I think one would argue that does a lot of harm to their own cause," Mr Gosper said.
"My belief is the torch relay will stay on course, there may be adjustments to it, but I think it would be wrong to do anything other than try and get the torch through to its ultimate destination."
US Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton urged President George W. Bush yesterday to boycott the Beijing Olympics opening ceremonies this summer unless China improves human rights. Ms Clinton cited violent clashes in Tibet and the lack of pressure by China on Sudan to stop "the genocide in Darfur".