Barcelona’s Dani Alves reacted to having a banana thrown at him during Sunday’s dramatic 3-2 win at Villarreal by peeling it and then taking a bite.

He was about to take a corner when the banana landed on the pitch.

“We have suffered this in Spain for some time,” said Alves. “You have to take it with a dose of humour.”

“If you don’t give it importance, they don’t achieve their objective

Former Barca striker Gary Lineker praised Alves. “Picked it up, peeled it, ate it and proceeded to take the corner,” he tweeted.  “Top response.”

The ex-England striker added: “Utterly brilliant reaction from Alves. Treat the racist berk with complete disdain!”

Alves has been a regular target of racist abuse during his 12 years in Spain with both Sevilla and Barcelona.

In January 2013, the Brazil international complained of racist abuse  following a Copa del Rey semi-final match against Real Madrid.

“We aren’t going to change things easily,” he added.

Referring specifically to Sunday’s incident, he said: “If you don’t give it importance, they don’t achieve their objective.”

Alves, 30, was involved in two goals as Barca come from 2-0 down against Villarreal to win 3-2 at El Madrigal.

The win leaves them second in the table, four points behind leaders Atletico Madrid with three games remaining.

BBC