Footballer Demonstrates What You Should Do When A Banana Comes Flying Your Way
A La Liga match between Villareal and Barcelona was marred when a racist threw a banana on a pitch, targeting Dani Alves. However his responded by eating the banana.
By Darian Goh — 29 Apr 2014, 12:59 PM — Updated over 10 years ago
Barcelona Defender Was Thrown A Banana As He Was About To Take A Corner Kick
He Reacted By Peeling And Eating The Banana As He Took The Corner
Barcelona's Dani Alves reacted to having a banana thrown at him during Sunday's dramatic 3-2 win at Villarreal by peeling it and then taking a bite.
Barcelona defender Dani Alves responded to a racist taunt when a banana landed at his feet during Sunday's game at Villarreal by picking up the fruit, peeling and then eating it before proceeding to take a corner kick.
But, instead of letting the the incident get to him, Alves calmly picked up the offending fruit, unpeeled it and took a hasty mouthful before carrying on with the game - bananas after all contain high levels of potassium that give athletes energy.
dailymail.co.ukIn A Post Match Interview, Alves Said The Best Way To Combat Racism Is Through Humour
"We have suffered this in Spain for some time. You have to take it with a dose of humour," Alves said.
"If you don't give it importance, they don't achieve their objective."
Racism Is A Huge Issue In Spain As Dark Skinned Players Usually Subject To Taunts As Well As Thrown Objects
There have been several racist incidents in Spain -- Alves has personally suffered several during more than a decade, first with Sevilla then Barcelona.
Alves has often been subjected to racist taunts and called fighting racism "a lost war" in January 2013, after segments of Real Madrid's fans abused him with monkey chants during a match.
In February 2005, Samuel Eto'o suffered from racially-driven verbal abuse by some Real Zaragoza spectators during a match for FC Barcelona. The fans began making monkey-like chants whenever Eto'o had possession of the ball and peanuts were hurled onto the pitch. Eto'o threatened to leave the pitch in the middle of the game, but was prevented by the intervention of his team-mates and the referee, who rushed to the pitch to calm him down.
Shortly After The Incident, Football Stars All Lent Their Support To Dani Alves On Social Media
Stars from the world of football have backed Barcelona's Dani Alves after he reacted to having a banana thrown at him by peeling it and taking a bite.
Alves' team-mate Neymar later posted a picture on his Facebook profile
aiming a joke towards the vile act, where he posed with his son and a banana, as well as a banana child's toy, with the caption '#weareallmonkeys'.
A move also repeated on Instagram by Chelsea's Brazilian trio Oscar, David Luiz and Willian.
Fifa president Sepp Blatter tweeted: "What Alves tolerated is an outrage. Will be zero tolerance at #WorldCup."
Compatriots Hulk, Fred and Lucas Leiva displayed their support via their social media accounts, with the Liverpool midfielder writing on Twitter: "Congratulations on your attitude yesterday. We are together on this fight against racism."
The Racist Fan Has Since Therefore Been Handed A Lifetime Ban From The Stadium
Villarreal have handed out a lifetime ban to the so-called supporter who created an international incident after throwing a banana at Barcelona defender Dani Alves.
dailymail.co.ukVillarreal announced on Monday that the fan who threw a banana at Barcelona's Dani Alves on Sunday has been identified and punished by the club.
sbnation.com
Villarreal have confirmed they have identified the person responsible for throwing the banana and have issued them with a lifetime stadium ban. A statement on the club's website read: "The club deeply regrets and condemns the incident. "Thanks to the security forces and the invaluable assistance of the Villarreal fans, the club have identified the culprit and decided to withdraw their season ticket and ban them from entering El Madrigal stadium for life."