Footballers and athletes around the world have shown their support to Dani Alves after he was the subject of racist abuse on Saturday night.

In a Spanish league match between Barcelona and Villarreal, a banana was thrown onto the pitch at the Brazilian who picked it up, took a bite and continued with the game.

After the match, Alves thanked the fan for throwing the fruit towards him as it “gave me the energy to give two more crosses that ended in [the] goal.”

He has been surprised by the amount of support he has been shown on social media since the incident.

Team-mates and other players around the world, including Luis Suarez who was banned for eight games for a racist remark towards Patrice Evra, have posted pictures of themselves on Twitter and Instagram eating bananas with the hashtags “WeAreAllMonkeys” and “SayNoToRacism” in support of the player.

“All the support has surprised me. It was a super spontaneous reaction I made without thinking about the repercussions,” said Alves.

“My reaction was to pick it up and take a bite. It wasn’t pre-planned because I couldn’t imagine that a banana would be thrown onto the pitch.

“I think a negative attitude has to be met with a positive one. That makes more difference than trying to fight in a different way.”

The 30-year-old, who has been the victim of racist abuse before during his 11 years in La Liga, added: “I’m glad to be able to contribute in some way to the betterment of the world. It’s not only in football, this kind of thing should not exist anywhere.

“We’re in the 21st century, the world has evolved and we must evolve with it.

“I’m glad to have created this effect and hope it serves in some way to put a stop to these types of attitudes.”

Villarreal have since found the fan and banned him for life but the Barcelona star feels that more could be done and wants the fan to be publicly named.

Alves said: “If I could, I would put a photo of the fan on the the internet so that he would be shamed.”

The incident shows that racism is still something that needs to be eradicated from the game with Alves adding: “Football is a place of fun. It’s where you support your team and you can take your children, family and friends to share the moment.”

Kadeem Simmonds