Gary Neville ashamed for not standing up for Ashley Cole when he suffered abuse in Spain

Manchester United legend Gary Neville revealed this week that he still feels ashamed for not standing up for England teammates Ashley Cole and Shaun Wright-Phillips when the duo suffered racist abuse during a game in Spain. The former England international launched a scathing criticism of his own actions and believes he should have done more during the Ashley Cole racism episode. Ashley Cole and Gary Neville were first-choice England full-backs for a long time, making a combined 192 appearances for the Three Lions. 

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Ashley Cole racism: Gary Neville ashamed of not standing up against racist abuse of his teammate 

In a chat with The Mirror, Gary Neville revealed he could have done more for his teammates during the Ashley Cole racism row. England played Spain at the Santiago Bernabeu in 2004, and the fans resorted to monkey noises every time Ashley Cole or his teammate Shaun Wright-Phillips touched the ball. FIFA fined the Spanish FA £44,750 for the Ashley Cole racism incident.

Gary Neville revealed that he did not speak a word to Ashley Cole after he suffered racist abuse and overlooked or semi-­answered the question on racism during his post-match interview. Neville, who had a short stint as Valencia manager in LaLiga, revealed that players considered racist abuse similar to the abuse they receive from crowds when playing for their clubs and tended to just get on with it. Gary Neville added that he did not fight enough for this despite being on the PFA management committee. The former Valencia boss is set to return to punditry when Premier League action kicks off on Wednesday, with Sky Sports having put their staff through racial awareness training on Sunday along with Kick It Out ahead of the restart.

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Gary Neville, during his punditry duties with Sky Sports, said that teams should walk off when their players suffer racist abuse. Neville's claims came after Chelsea's Antonio Rudiger was racially abused while playing against Tottenham at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in December. The Machester United legend went on to claim that an annual day where players wear Kick it Out t-shirts is not enough to combat racism.

Anti-racism protests have gained momentum across the globe after the horrific killing of George Floyd in the US, and Premier League players have pledged their support to the Black Lives Matter movement since. The first 12 Premier League restart games will see the phrase 'Black Lives Matter' on the kits instead of individual player names in a bid to raise awareness and combat racial and social injustice. In addition to this, Premier League stars will also wear Black Lives Matter emblems on their kits for the rest of the campaign.

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Image Courtesy: UEFA.com