Kyle Walker has said racism is 'everywhere' but has urged England's players to rise above it.
Following Chelsea's complaints about alleged racist chanting at youngster Callum Hudson-Odoi in Kiev last week, Manchester City full back Walker said: 'I think it's just the world that we live in.
'You can pin up banners, you can put t-shirts on saying keep racism out of football, but it's not just football. It's everywhere.'
Walker, speaking to ITV News, urged aspiring players to 'just be yourself, it doesn't matter if you're Asian, black or white.'
Former Tottenham defender Walker also spoke about the recent spike in pitch invasions, after Aston Villa's Jack Grealish and Manchester United's Chris Smalling were both assaulted by fans on the field.
On the incident which saw Grealish punched during Villa'a 1-0 win at rivals Birmingham, Walker told ITV News sports editor Steve Scott: 'It's scary, that man could have had anything on him, whether it be a knife or anything.
'Hat's off to Jack at how he dealt with it, he got back up and he let his football do the talking.'
Meanwhile, Liverpool star Trent Alexander-Arnold has pulled out of England's squad to face the Czech Republic and Montenegro with a back problem.
Marcus Rashford is also a doubt due to an ongoing ankle injury.
payback
59
"Just be yourself, it doesn't matter if your Asian or black, white, we're all the same, we all have a heart, we all have blood in our veins and that's it."
Allen2034
50
Racism has no place anywhere. Much less in football. Football is universal. Everyone on the pitch loves what they do, and gets paid handsomely for it. Live your dream, but live it better than you did.