MADRID: Barcelona and a host of fellow players have backed Daniel Alves after he produced a clever riposte to a racist taunt involving a banana when taking a corner kick during Sunday’s 3-2 La Liga win at Villarreal.
Alves, who has previously taken a stand against racism at matches in Spain, grabbed the banana thrown in front of him onto the pitch, quickly peeled it and took a bite before tossing away the skin and completing the kick.
“We are all monkeys, we are all the same, say no to racism,” Alves’s Barca and Brazil team mate Neymar wrote on his Twitter feed with a picture of him holding a peeled banana, one of a number of high-profile players who expressed their support.
Barca earlier pledged their “complete support and solidarity” with Alves and referred to “insults he was subject to from a section of the crowd”.
They also thanked Villarreal for immediately condemning those responsible.
“Barcelona accepts that the perpetrators of these insults are in no way connected to Villarreal and we value very positively the support the club offered to our player,” Barca said.
“The club’s immediate condemnation of the incidents is a step in the right direction to firstly isolate and then eradicate completely from the sporting arena this kind of behaviour.”
European soccer has long been blighted by racist incidents by fans and their leagues criticised for not doing enough to stamp them out.
UEFA has been running a high-profile campaign to try to counter racist behaviour and promote respect.
Alves complained of abuse last year after being taunted by monkey chants from sections of the crowd during a King’s Cup semi-final at Real Madrid and labelled Spain’s efforts to tackle the problem a “lost war”.
Ferdinand is ‘embarrassed’ by United plight
MANCHESTER: Manchester United defender Rio Ferdinand admitted that he is “embarrassed” by the English champions humble seventh place in the Premier League.
United sacked manager David Moyes last week after just 10 months in charge and with the team unable to qualify for the Champions League next season.
“I haven’t looked at the league table for ages because it is embarrassing,” Ferdinand told www.manutd.com
“I don’t want to see where we are. That is down to us as players and we take responsibility for that as much as anyone else. We are where we are. We have to take some form of responsibility and we do.”
The game also saw a recall to the starting line-up for Ferdinand who said he intends to keep playing next season even though he is already 35.
“I’m going to continue playing,” he said. “Whether it’s here, I don’t know. But I hope so. When you have been successful, you don’t ever want to look on a negative perspective or from a negative viewpoint.” REUTERS
