Dani Alves responds to racist taunt by peeling and eating banana thrown at him from a Villarreal fan

Alves was preparing to take a corner when a banana was thrown at him in a racist taunt, but the Brazilian calmly picked it up, peeled it and ate it before taking the corner

Tuesday 29 April 2014 08:45 BST
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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.

Alves said after the match that humor is the best way to combat racism in sports.

"We have suffered this in Spain for some time," Alves said. "You have to take it with a dose of humor. We aren't going to change things easily.

"If you don't give it importance, they don't achieve their objective."

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.

During the match, Alves had already played a key part in sparking his team's 3-2 comeback when his off-target shot was turned into an own goal Gabriel Armando in the 65th.

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