Spanish club Espanyol have condemned the racist chants by a section of the home crowd aimed at FC Barcelona right back Dani Alves during their 1-1 draw in the Spanish League on Sunday.
Speaking to the media, Espanyol coach Mauricio Pochettino has condemned the attacks by the home fans and said that there is no place for racism in football and that it should be completely eradicated in order to save the integrity of the game.
A large section of home fans jeered the Brazil international full back and made monkey noises whenever he touched the ball.
However, the Brazilian player declined to comment about the incident saying that he did not hear any racist remarks against him and he was fully concentrating on the action happening on the field and not off it. However, this is not the first time that Dani Alves has been subjected to racist chants during his time in Spain and even during his spell at Sevilla; he was the victim of racial abuse from the opposition fans.
The Spanish League has been plagued by racist chants from crowds at several stadiums for the last few years and the most high profile victim of it has been Samuel Eto’o during his time playing in the League when opposition fans showed bananas at him, leaving the Cameroon international player in tears. The country’s football federation has been trying to implement various measures to eradicate racism and racial abuse from the game but nothing seems to come of it and the incident involving Alves on Sunday prove that point.
However, with the Espanyol manager contemplating serious action against those found guilty in racially abusing Dani Alves in the Catalan derby and even banning them from home games, it might just happen that there is future for football without racism in Spain after all.