AC Milan midfielder Kevin-Prince Boateng has compared racism to a "dangerous disease" and believes that it can spread like malaria.
The Ghanaian was speaking at a UN summit in Geneva on Thursday on how football should tackle the issue of racism.
"There have been moments in my life when I didn't wish to face the problem," said Boateng. "I tried to ignore it as if it was a headache that would sooner or later go away. I just had to wait.
"That, however, is an illusion. It won't go away by itself. We have a duty to face racism and to fight it. The concept 'a bit racist' doesn't exist. There are no tolerable quantities of racism. It's unacceptable regardless of where it happens or the form that it takes.
"When I played for Ghana, I learned how to fight malaria. I think that racism and malaria have a lot in common. Stadia can be places where people of different colour come to support their teams or they can be seen as stagnant areas where healthy people will be infected by racism. We can't allow this to happen before our very eyes.
"Football stadia, like other places, are full of young people. If we don't fight the stagnation, many of those who are healthy today, could become infected with one of the most dangerous diseases of our time.
"It's just as important to stand up to racism today as it was in the past. We have to find inspiration from those who have risked their lives for the cause. I'm convinced that it would be a fatal error to believe that we can fight racism by ignoring it and hoping that it'll go away like a headache. This won't happen."
Boateng will meet FIFA president Sepp Blatter in Geneva on Friday to discuss how to combat racism in football.
