LA LIGA: Villarreal fined for racial taunt

Villarreal have been fined just under £10,000
after a fan racially taunted Barcelona's Dani
Alves by throwing a banana at him.
The incident happened in Barcelona's 3-2 win
at El Madrigal on April 27, just as Alves was
about to take a corner, and he reacted by
taking a bite from the banana before
discarding it.
A 26-year-old fan, David Campayo Lleo, was
later arrested by police and Alves has
received support from a number of high profile
players on social media.
Spanish football authorities were considering
a partial closure of the stadium, but instead
opted for a fine after Lleo was given a life ban
by the club.
Lord Herman Ouseley, chair of football
inclusion campaign Kick It Out, has criticised
the punishment handed out to Villareal by
Spanish authorities.
He said: "The Spanish FA has been incredibly
weak and lily-livered on tackling racism and
we're seeing these types of incidents
repeating themselves because they've done
nothing sufficiently effective to address the
problem.
"They need to stop burying their heads in the
sand by denying that the issue exists."
Barcelona released a statement, calling for a
clampdown on racism throughout the game.
"Barcelona wishes to express its complete
support and solidarity with Dani Alves
following the insults he was subject to," it
read.
"Barcelona urges all clubs to continue fighting
against the blight on the game which any kind
of aggression against a sportsperson on the
basis of their race represents.''
But another La Liga game was marred by
racist abuse at the weekend when Levante's
Papakouli Diop was subjected to monkey
gestures by Atletico Madrid supporters.