Instances and Punishments

VILLARREAL, Spain (AP) — Barcelona defender Dani Alves responded to a racist taunt Sunday in a game at Villarreal by picking up a banana that landed at his feet, 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. And shortly after the banana incident, Alves launched a cross that Mateo Musacchio headed into his own goal in the 78th before Lionel Messi scored Barcelona’s winner. The win kept Barcelona four points behind league leader Atletico Madrid. After the match, Alves said humor was the best way to combat racism. That sentiment has led fellow soccer players, officials and even political figures from around the globe to respond with solidarity by picturing themselves eating a banana..The match referee on Sunday included the 75th-minute incident in his match report, so Villarreal could face a $12,000 fine. The club says it has banned the person who threw the banana from all future matches. by Taboola David Campayo Thousands of protestors gathered in Vila-real to protest the “media lynching” of 26-year-old now-former Villarreal youth coach, David Campayo, who threw a banana from the stands at Barcelona's Dani Alves, which led to an anti-racism campaign that spread like wildfire since Sunday evening's incident.