Dani Alves helps in kicking out racism out of football.

The racist incident took place as the player was about to take a corner in a match at Villarreal on Sunday.

Alves responded by peeling and eating the banana - which received praise worldwide and sparked a large social media campaign against racism.

The man detained has been identified as a 26-year-old Villarreal supporter.

He has been named as David Campaya Lleo, local media say.

The club said earlier the man involved had had his season ticket withdrawn and been given a lifetime ban.

The Barcelona defender expressed his surprise at the outpouring of support in the wake of the banana affair. His team eventually won the match 3-2, at Villareal's El Madrigal stadium in Castellon on Spain's east coast.

Alves told BBC Brasil on Wednesday it was "not an isolated incident", and that he had been denouncing racist insults for six years.

"I hope that this (campaign) can be an alert to ban this kind of attitude from football altogether. I hope the debate about racial prejudice will not fade away, but stays on permanently and not be restricted only to football," he added.

Lifetime ban

Reports suggest the suspect in detention may have had links to one of the Villarreal's youth teams, although the team has not commented on this.

In a statement earlier this week, Villarreal said the club "deeply regrets and condemns the incident".