Dani Alves has transformed an appalling piece of racism into a piece of viral internet magic. The Brazilian Barça player received a racist attack during the second half of the Villarreal-Barcelona match: someone from the crowd threw a banana at him, a racist action commonly carried out against South American players. However, rather than getting angry or upset, Dani Alves simply picked up the banana, peeled it and ate in front of the crowd. He then threw away the peel and took his free kick.
Dani Alves says "I'm used to it. I've been playing in Europe for 11 years and this sort of thing has happened since the beginning. You just have to laugh at those idiots," said the Barcelona player after the match. Alves was a key player in two of the three goals against Villarreal. "I suffered a lot of racism in Spain. Unfortunately, I have just had to learn to live with it. At first it was really annoying, but now I just don't give it any importances," he said in 2011.
Dani Alves has also revealed that his family was "saddened" when he was the victim of racist taunts, but he rejected the possibility of making an official complaint because he feels that it merely comes from a fundamental lack of education in fans. As a player for Barça, Alves has been the victim of numerous racist insults. In the Clásicos series against Real Madrid in Mourinho, Alves received numerous racist taunts in Bernabeu stadium.
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