Danny Rose is 'incredible' for speaking out against racism, says Andros Townsend

Andros Townsend has hailed Danny Rose's bravery for speaking out against racism, describing him as "incredible".

Rose was one of a number of England players who were racially abused while playing in Montenegro last month.

The Tottenham defender subsequently said he could not wait to leave football because he is frustrated at the way authorities handle cases of racism, and his former Spurs team-mate has offered his support.

Townsend said: "Danny's a very brave man for coming out, being so honest and speaking the truth. Obviously I sympathise with him; we all support him.

"Luckily so far I haven't experienced racism but I know Danny has on more than one occasion. He's experienced it with the England U21s and the seniors in Montenegro the other day.

"We need more players like Danny to come out, be honest and speak the truth, to say what they really feel. Danny's an incredible person - hopefully the system can help Danny and he can enjoy his football again."

As well as the incidents in Montenegro, Juventus forward Moise Kean was racially abused by Cagliari fans during a Serie A match earlier this month.

This weekend saw three incidents alone, with a Brentford fan arrested for allegedly racially abusing Derby's Duane Holmes, while Wigan's Nathan Byrne and Crystal Palace's Wilfried Zaha were both allegedly subjected to racial abuse on social media.

Townsend believes racism is creeping back into football, and added: "We need Danny and the young lad at Juventus to speak out because that will force action.

"I don't know why racism's still going on. We've got to move on in football and kick it out as much as we can.

"Hopefully the relevant organisations will do their best to stamp it out. They're working their very hardest to stamp it out once and for all."