Gary Neville has admitted he is still 'ashamed' that he did not stand up for his England team-mate Ashley Cole when he was racially abused in Spain in 2004.
Cole was targeted by Spain fans during an international clash at the Santiago Bernabeu in 2004, with supporters in the ground subjecting him to monkey noises every time he touched the ball.
Shaun Wright-Phillips was also targeted by the fans during England's 1-0 loss.
FIFA eventually fined the Spanish FA £44,750 for the actions of their fans, but Neville believes he could have done more for his team-mates.
'It's appalling,' Neville told the Mirror. 'I sat next to Ashley Cole in that dressing room in Spain all those years ago, came off the pitch at the end of the game, got in the shower, didn't say a word to him, went and did my interviews after the game, probably ignored or semi-answered the question on racism, walked onto the bus, went back home and didn't think.
'I just accepted it almost. I didn't even say to him at the end of the game, "How are you?"
'I'm honest with you, I've got nowhere to go. The reality is we put racial abuse in the same category as the abuse we would receive for playing for Manchester United, for England. We just put it down as abuse.
'We didn't think, we just got on with it. It's appalling and I'm ashamed of the fact.
'For someone who was on the PFA management committee and fought for players' rights at nearly every level, I didn't fight hard enough on this.'
Neville is preparing for the return of football this week and Sky Sports put their staff through racial awareness training on Sunday with Kick It Out ahead of the restart.
This follows the murder of George Floyd in the United States and global protests.
Former Manchester United right-back Neville said on the channel in December that teams should walk off after Antonio Rudiger said he was racially abused while playing for Chelsea at Tottenham.
Neville went on to claim they have a 'platform' and that an annual day where players wear a Kick It Out t-shirt is not enough.
Premier League stars will now wear Black Lives Matter emblems on their kits for the rest of the campaign.
And in the first 12 games, their names will be replaced on the back of their shirts with the phrase 'Black Lives Matter'.
