Dani Alves abuse: Barcelona defender would like picture of racist fan posted on internet
Alves was targeted with a racial taunt on Sunday when a fan threw a banana at him but it is neither the first time Alves or others have been targeted racially in Spain
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Your support makes all the difference.Dani Alves has admitted they he would put a picture of the racist fan that threw a banana at him on the internet in a name-and-shame punishment, after the Villarreal supporter was identified by the club.
The incident happened when Alves was preparing to take a corner during Sunday’s La Liga clash between Villarreal and Barcelona, with the Brazilian helping his side to overturn a 2-0 deficit and secure a 3-2 victory.
But the match was marred when a banana was thrown towards Alves, who calmly picked it up, peeled it and took a bite before proceeding with the corner. The 30-year-old has been praised for his approach, while Villarreal have confirmed that they have identified and banned the racist fan from the El Madrigal stadium for life.
Speaking to Brazil’s Radio Globo, Alves said: “If I could, I would put a photo of the fan on the internet so that he would be shamed.”
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Alves has also spoken of his experiences in Spain since moving to Sevilla in 2002, having been racially abused from the stands on more than one occasion. He said after the latest vile taunt that “you need to take these situations with a dose of humour,” although did stress that Spain has a real problem when it comes to dealing with racism.
“There is racism against foreigners,” he added. “They sell the country as being first world but in certain things they are very backward.”
Alves’ abuse sparks memories of the racial taunts England internationals including Shaun Wright-Phillips and Ashley Cole were targeted with monkey chants from areas of the crowd during an international friendly against Spain at the Bernabeu.
Furthermore, 2008 Formula 1 World Champion Lewis Hamilton was subjected to racial taunts from the stands during a testing session at Barcelona’s Catalunya circuit, while Brazilian international footballer and Real Madrid regular Marcelo was the victim of vile chants following a match against rivals Atletico Madrid in February.
It was alleged that chants of “Marcelo is a monkey” were made during the match, and when the left-back walked back onto the pitch after the 3-0 Cope del Rey victory with his son, further chants of “May your father die” were believed to have been made.
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