Levante midfielder Papakouli Diop responded to racist chants from opposing Atletico fans by dancing.
The incident occurred towards the conclusion of Levante’s stunning 2-0 victory over Atletico.
After being taunted with monkey chants, the Senegalese player decided to dance.
“They called me monkey, and I turned and imitated a monkey,” Diop said during a post-game press conference, reports Marca. “I’m tired of racism in football. And there’s a lot.”
Diop told AS that “the incident affected me a lot. I went to take a corner, and part of the Atletico fans began to make ‘monkey noises.’Â To take the sting out of it, I began to dance, but I did not insult anyone.”
Diop’s response comes just one week after Barcelona’s Dani Alves picked up and ate a banana that landed at his feet during a corner kick.
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“We have suffered this in Spain for some time,” Alves said. “You have to take it with a dose of humor. We aren’t going to change things easily.”
FIFA President Sepp Blatter took to his Twitter account last week to condemn the racist behavior.
What @DaniAlvesD2 tolerated last night is an outrage. We must fight all forms of discrimination united. Will be zero tolerance at #WorldCup.
— Joseph S Blatter (@SeppBlatter) April 28, 2014
Follow Carrie Healey on Twitter @CarrieHeals.Â
