5 times footballers had to deal with racism 

#1 Dani Alves

Alves used humour to counter racism

What do you do when you are shown such intense racial disrespect of a banana being thrown at you? A normal person would have avoided the situation or maybe complain to the referee. Not Dani Alves – he is not your average person.

As Alves readied himself to take a corner against Villarreal, someone among a group of home fans threw a banana at him. What he did next was a sight to behold – and something that caused a movement of its own – he simply picked up the banana, peeled it and ate it.

He also sarcastically thanked the fan who threw it at him, claiming that eating the banana gave him strength. He was also of the opinion that humour is the most efficient way to tackle racism.

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

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