Tom Davies has stressed the importance of allies speaking up for those who have received discriminatory abuse.
The Everton midfielder was speaking as the Premier League reiterates to fans that there is No Room For Racism, asking them to challenge racism where they see it.
Many Premier League players have been the target of racist abuse on social media and Davies says that others need to join them in speaking out against such behaviour.
"There’s been a lot of players who are having to stand up for themselves and they’re getting punished for something that’s not their fault and that they’re targeted and suffering from," he said.
"It's important for people like myself to speak up about these situations, so people don’t feel like they’re on their own talking about it or they’re getting the abuse and then having to defend themselves."
Message to fans
This weekend's Premier League matches will again feature No Room For Racism messages as the League and clubs continue to work together to fight racism and make it clear that any form of discrimination is unacceptable in football and wider society.
Davies says the importance of visibly supporting team-mates and rivals is the reason why Premier League players have chosen to take the knee before matches, to show a unity on the pitch that goes beyond it.
"There are things that we are doing off the pitch whether it be the Premier League, social media companies, football clubs," he said. "We have to stick together like the symbol [taking the knee] shows on the pitch to then take it into our everyday lives."
The Premier League is urging fans to challenge abuse when they witness it and this is something Davies supports.
'Report racist abuse'
"You have to report these situations and then it [puts] the onus onto the organisations to give out the punishment appropriate to stop these things from happening," he said. "You have to challenge these things, you have to report them and keep yourself strong and find people that can help you in these situations.
"Because it's not going to take one person to make this change. It'll take people to drive it and bring light on to the situation.
"You have to stand up and be heard, and let people understand your views on things and show that it's not right to do it."
