Spanish football club Villarreal CF today released a statement on their website condemning the racist act which saw a fan throw a banana at Barcelona defender Dani Alves during a La Liga match between both sides on Sunday.

Consequently, Villarreal in the statement revealed that the club has withdrawn the erring fan’s season ticket as well as permanently banning the fan’s access to the El-Madrigal Stadium.

Alves was preparing to take a cornerkick when the banana was thrown at him, but in peculiar fashion Alves picked the banana, peeled it and ate it before proceeding to take the cornerkick.

Alves’s reaction to the incident has led to widespread condemnation of the act and support for Alves, with Barcelona and Brazil teammate Neymar posting a photo on Instagram with the hashtags ”#somostodosmacacos #weareallmonkeys”.

Other notable players who have taken similar pictures and posted on social media websites include Belgium midfielder Dries Mertens and another with Sergio Agüero with Brazil female footballer Marta.

Alves on his part after the match thanked the fan for throwing the banana at him, as it enabled him to put in the two crosses that led to the own goals which helped Barcelona come from 2-0 down to draw level before Lionel Messi scored the winner for the Catalan side.

Below is the full statement from the English site of Villarreal CF:

”Villarreal CF wants to communicate that the club deeply regrets and condemns the incident that happened yesterday during the match against FC Barcelona in which a fan threw an object onto the field of El Madrigal.

Thanks to the security forces and the invaluable assistance of the Yellow crowd, the club has already identified the author and has decided to withdraw his season tickets, permanently banning his access to El Madrigal stadium.

Once again our club would like to express its firm commitment to promoting respect, equality, sportsmanship and fair play both on and off the field and our absolute rejection of any act that is contrary to these principles, such as violence, discrimination, racism and xenophobia.”