George Clooney engaged to a Brit

Hollywood’s most eligible bachelor, George Clooney, 52, is reportedly off the market.

Clooney is said to be engaged to London barrister Amal Alamuddin, a 36-year-old Oxford-educated human rights lawyer.

Ms Alamuddin has represented WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange and Ukrainian Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko and been described as a "passionate defender of human rights".

According to People magazine, Clooney's engagement to Ms Alamuddin occurred "not that long ago".

Clooney’s mother Nina has said she "couldn't be happier" about the engagement.

She said: "We weren't at all surprised when they told us they were engaged, and we couldn't be happier for them.

"On an intellectual level, they are equals. That is very important to him. Amal's world couldn't be more different from the Hollywood lifestyle. She's a lawyer, she is brilliant, she is a very bright woman and at the very top of her career."

She also said: "They share a sense of fun, a sense of humour and they are both very caring people."

Last week Ms Alamuddin was said to have been wearing a "massive" ring while dining with Clooney and Cindy Crawford at a Malibu restaurant.

Ms Alamuddin, who speaks fluent French and Arabic, is said to have spent time with her fiancé in New York, Tanzania and the Seychelles over the last few months.

Ms Alamuddin, the envy of women around the world following the news breaking, works for London's Doughty Street chambers.

She declined to comment on the reports to media outlets.

However, a Doughty Street chambers spokesperson told Sky News: "Amal has been utterly wonderful since she arrived in Chambers. She brings a bright light to everything she is involved in, and I am so delighted at her happy news."

A statement released by the company said its staff: "offer their best wishes and congratulations to Ms. Amal Alamuddin ... and Mr. George Clooney on their engagement to be married."

Counterfeit clothing seized in Almeria

Guardia Civil have seized more than 800 items of counterfeit clothing in a series of raids.

The clothes were on offer for sale in several shops in the Roquetas del Mar, as well as a number of stalls in the market.

Guardia Civil estimates the clothing had a potential street value of €59,000.

The Guardia Civil say it is awarning to shops around the province that they are on the look out for fake branded clothing.

The operation has also led to the arrest of eight persons suspected of an offense against intellectual property.

This latest haul was the result of research and inspections by the Guardia Civil, in the prevention of manufacture, distribution and sale of fake brands.

These kinds of operations are to protect the interests of the holders of the intellectual property rights registered under trademark law.

The 847 items included t-shirts, jerseys, and sportswear. Full details have been referred to magistrates.

Why you'll hate Internet 'fast lane'

An Internet "fast lane" means that consumers will pay more for their services, says Corynne McSherry.

• The FCC might allow Internet service providers to charge more for a "fast lane"


• Corynne McSherry: High costs will go to customers; Internet competition will be stifled


• She says other advanced countries pay far less and get faster service than Americans


• McSherry: On May 15, the public can weigh in on FCC's decision and voice concerns

Editor's note: Corynne McSherry is the intellectual property director at Electronic Frontier Foundation. The opinions expressed in this commentary are solely those of the author.

(CNN) -- Recently, Tom Wheeler, chairman of the Federal Communications Commission, came under fire for reportedly proposing exceedingly weak "open Internet rules." If the reports are correct, the FCC will allow broadband providers like Comcast to make special deals that give some companies preferential treatment, as long as those deals are "commercially reasonable."

In other words, rather then requiring broadband providers to treat all Internet traffic more or less equally, the FCC will permit them to create an Internet "fast lane" and shake down content providers like Netflix, Google and Amazon for the right to travel in it.

Guess who will really end up paying for the fast lane? Yep -- you, the customers.

The price will be higher than you think. Not only will you have to pay more for the services you already use, but you will also lose out on emerging services that will be crushed by the new costs.

YouTube and Netflix may be able to "pay to play." But innovative competitors -- the next Facebook, Twitter or YouTube being dreamed up in someone's garage right now -- may not.

The proposed rules aren't all bad. The FCC will also require ISPs to be more transparent about the deals they make so customers will know what they are getting. The FCC will also caution ISPs against making deals that favor their own affiliated businesses (we're looking at you, Comcast -- no special favors for your friends at NBC Universal).

Court ruling might make Netflix cost more

Unfortunately, even "transparency" is tougher to enforce than many might think, because so much of our connectivity depends on secret agreements between various kinds of Internet service providers.

The devil is in the details. The good news is that we will have a chance to look at those details in a few weeks and tell the FCC what we think. The FCC will be voting on the new rules at its May 15 meeting. If it votes to adopt them, it must publish the proposed rules in advance and respond to public concerns about them. The problem is that most people don't know how this process works, and so they don't participate. (The Electronic Frontier Foundation is building a tool that will make that easier; visit our site next month at www.eff.org)

The Internet is too important to leave to bureaucrats who seem more beholden to the ISPs than the public. We need to let the FCC know we will not tolerate rules that let ISPs pick and choose how well Internet users can connect to one another.

If we really want to stop net discrimination, we need to foster a genuinely competitive market for Internet access. Right now, subscribers have few ISP options in many markets. If subscribers and customers had adequate information about their options and could vote with their feet -- i.e., switch providers -- ISPs would have strong incentives to treat all network traffic fairly.

Moreover, they would also have an incentive to improve our Internet speeds. Most Americans don't realize it, but the United States is falling behind when it comes to high-speed Internet. We pay much more for much less than subscribers in other developed countries like Sweden, South Korea and Japan.

Subscribers in those countries are getting Internet service that is 100 times faster than the fastest connection in the United States -- for a fraction of the average U.S. cable bill. That's appalling. We can do better, but only if we start demanding more from ISPs.

Already, our lagging Internet speeds are likely to have serious consequences. "What's at stake is whether the new jobs, new ideas, new services of the 21st century will come from the United States or they'll come from Stockholm, Seoul, Beijing, where kids are already playing in the virtual sandboxes of these very high capacity networks," noted Susan Crawford, a legal scholar who has served on President Obama's science and tech team.

Our ISPs have no incentive to invest in building powerful, competitive, networks. Why should they? It's not like their customers are going anywhere.

Fortunately, efforts are under way to address this. For example, all around the country, cities are investing in their own broadband networks, some successfully. Fostering strong alternatives in high-speed Internet access won't be easy, and community broadband alone won't be the panacea. But it's a start, and a movement the FCC should support.

We'll need more experiments like these if we want the Internet to continue to be an extraordinary platform for free expression, innovation and commerce. So let's make sure the FCC hears us loud and clear: Reject "pay to play" and resist monopolies so that everyone benefits, not just the powerful Internet service providers.

Follow us on Twitter @CNNOpinion.

Join us on Facebook/CNNOpinion.

And the Tony nominees are ...

Neil Patrick Harris earned a Tony nomination for his performance in "Hedwig and the Angry Inch."

• Neil Patrick Harris, Bryan Cranston, Carole King musical among Tony nominees


• "Gentleman's Guide to Love & Murder" leads all nominees with 10 nods


• Not on Tony's list: Denzel Washington, Daniel Radcliffe, Ian McKellen, Patrick Stewart


• Tony Awards set for June 8

(CNN) -- Neil Patrick Harris won't have to wait for it -- a Tony nomination, that is.

Harris, Bryan Cranston, Tony Shalhoub and Tyne Daly are among the familiar names who received nods for the highest honor of the Broadway stage. The nominations for the 2014 Tony Awards were announced Tuesday morning.

Harris earned a nomination for his performance in "Hedwig and the Angry Inch," which received eight nominations -- second only to "A Gentleman's Guide to Love & Murder," which received 10. Among them is a pick for best revival of a musical for the show itself.

Neil Patrick Harris, as Hedwig, curses at fan

Cranston was nominated for his performance as President Lyndon Johnson in Robert Schenkkan's "All the Way." It was one of just two nominations the play received, but the other was also big: best play.

Bryan Cranston, man of the moment

Shalhoub was nominated for "Act One," and Daly was nominated for "Mothers and Sons."

Not all well-known names came off as well. The musical version of Woody Allen's film "Bullets Over Broadway" received six nominations but was ignored for best musical, though Allen himself earned a nomination for best book (script) of the show. The Oscar-winning movie "Rocky," which was also turned into a musical, received four nominations, but its biggest pick was for best actor in a musical, for Andy Karl's performance as Rocky Balboa.

The nominees for best musical are "After Midnight," "Aladdin" (an adaptation of the 1992 Disney film), "Beautiful -- The Carole King Musical" and "A Gentleman's Guide to Love & Murder." "Aladdin," "Beautiful" and "Gentleman's Guide" also earned nominations for best book; "Aladdin" and "Gentleman's Guide" are both up for original score as well.

"Gentleman's Guide" is a musical version of the 1949 Alec Guinness comedy "Kind Hearts and Coronets." Like Guinness, star Jefferson Mays plays multiple roles. He's had experience: Mays won a Tony for playing several roles in the 2003 play "I Am My Own Wife."

The nominees for best play are James Lapine's "Act One," based on the Moss Hart memoir; Schenkkan's "All the Way"; Harvey Fierstein's "Casa Valentina"; Terrence McNally's "Mothers and Sons"; and John Patrick Shanley's "Outside Mullingar."

The nominees for best revival of a play are "The Cripple of Inishmaan," "The Glass Menagerie," "A Raisin in the Sun" and "Twelfth Night."

"Raisin" and "Twelfth Night" were among those on top of the acting nominations, with LaTanya Richardson Jackson, Sophie Okonedo and Anika Noni Rose earning nods for "Raisin" and Samuel Barnett, Paul Chahidi, Stephen Fry and Mark Rylance doing so for Shakespeare's comedy.

Notable by their absences: Denzel Washington, who plays the lead role in "Raisin"; Daniel Radcliffe, one of the stars of "Inishmaan"; Zachary Quinto, whose performance in "Menagerie" was overlooked; and pals Patrick Stewart and Ian McKellen, whose rotating bill of "Waiting for Godot" and "No Man's Land" was completely ignored.

And, The New York Times observed, the biggest box-office hit of the season, the revival of Harold Pinter's "Betrayal" starring real-life couple Daniel Craig and Rachel Weisz, was also shut out.

However, fans of "Frozen" can rejoice: That film's great singing star, Idina Menzel, was nominated for lead actress in a musical for "If/Then." "Let It Go"? Hardly.

The 2014 Tony Awards, presented by The Broadway League and the American Theatre Wing, are scheduled for Sunday, June 8, on CBS. Hugh Jackman will host.

'Star Wars: Episode VII': Meet the cast

J.J Abrams (top center right) talks to Harrison Ford at the cast read-through of Star Wars: Episode VII.

• Next "Star Wars" picks up 3 decades after "Return of the Jedi" story


• Original Chewbacca, C-3PO and R2-D2 actors are back


• John Williams will again compose the "Star War" score


• "Star Wars: Episode VII" opens December 18, 2015

Los Angeles (CNN) -- The next "Star Wars" cast will include originals Mark Hamill, Harrison Ford and Carrie Fisher reprising their 1977 roles.

"Star Wars: Episode VII" will pick up three decades after the "Return of the Jedi" episode's story with the same actors who played Luke Skywalker, Han Solo and Princess Leia, according to Disney, which bought Lucasfilm and its Star Wars film franchise two years ago.

Peter Meyhew will be in Chewbacca's Wookiee suit for a fifth film, while Anthony Daniels and Kenny Baker return as robots C-3PO and R2-D2 respectively, the Disney announcement said.

"We are so excited to finally share the cast of 'Star Wars: Episode VII,' " director J.J. Abrams said. "It is both thrilling and surreal to watch the beloved original cast and these brilliant new performers come together to bring this world to life, once again. We start shooting in a couple of weeks, and everyone is doing their best to make the fans proud."

New actors to the "Star Wars" franchise include John Boyega, Daisy Ridley, Adam Driver, Oscar Isaac, Andy Serkis, Domhnall Gleeson, and Max von Sydow, the announcement said.

Composer John Williams, who has written scores for all six "Star Wars" films, will also create the music for the newest. The movie is scheduled to open around the world on December 18, 2015.

Black Jews remark may dog Sterling

Comments attributed to Los Angeles Clippers owner Donald Sterling compare Black Jews in Israel to "dogs."

• Robin Washington looks at comments attributed to Sterling that slam black Jews in Israel


• "You go to Israel, the blacks are just treated like dogs," said a voice reported to be Sterling's


• Black Jews face adversity, but to compare them to "dogs" is out of bounds, he says

Editor's note: Robin Washington is a research scholar for the San Francisco-based think tank Be'chol Lashon and co-founder of the Alliance of Black Jews. He lives in Duluth, Minnesota. He was previously the editor of the Duluth News Tribune. You can follow him on Twitter @robinbirk. The opinions expressed in this commentary are solely those of the author.

(CNN) -- If the first thing you've ever heard about black Jews in Israel came out of the mouth — allegedly, still, for now — of L.A. Clippers owner Donald Sterling, I'm sorry to hear that. The reported rambling of an octogenarian billionaire in what sounds like a bedroom fight with his 30-something mistress probably isn't the best source for dissecting geopolitical religiosity.

"You go to Israel, the blacks are just treated like dogs," the Guy Who Sounds Like Sterling said on the recording leaked by Somebody Perhaps His Mistress.

Here's the full exchange:The Guy: "It's the world! You go to Israel, the blacks are just treated like dogs."The Mistress: "So do you have to treat them like that, too?"Guy: "The white Jews, there's white Jews and black Jews. Do you understand?"Mistress: "And are the black Jews less than the white Jews?"Guy: "A hundred percent, fifty, a hundred percent."

On the surface, Sterling might have a point — even if no one can make any sense of where he was going with it — that dark-skinned Jews have experienced adversity in the Jewish state. But to say ''dogs" isn't quite kosher.

Israel touts with pride successes like Operation Solomon, its airlift of Ethiopian Jews in 1991 — where in one push, more than 14,000 were transported to Israel over 36 hours — to escape persecution in a homeland where the religion has been practiced since Biblical times. There's no question that life, especially the fact that they are alive, is better in the Promised Land.

Yet it hasn't been overflowing with milk and honey. Ethiopian Jews are among the poorest Israelis, with 72% living below the poverty line and unemployment affecting as many as six in 10 Ethiopian men and three-quarters of women, according to the Jewish Community Relations Council of Greater Boston.

Consider also that many came from villages without electricity or running water, and that 70% were functionally illiterate in their native Amharic and never learned to read or write Hebrew. It's obvious they'd have trouble integrating into an industrialized society.

Frustrations boiled over two years ago in the city of Kiryat Malachi, when thousands demonstrated against discriminatory practices, including apartment owners who refused to rent to Ethiopian Israelis.

That's bad. But dogs?

IP Funny: Putin, Obama, Sterling

Writer: 'Let's not stop at the easy part'

Donald Sterling's wife: He's not racist

"That's insane. That's disgusting," said Avishai Mekonen, an Ethiopian Israeli filmmaker living in New York.

"Basically, this man is stupid. He doesn't know any history of African people," said Mekonen, who in his film "400 Miles to Freedom" documented his own harrowing escape from Ethiopia as a child, getting separated from his family and nearly dying in the desert.

The other side of the Ethiopian Jewish story counts successes like members of the Knesset, writers and musicians, and Yityish Aynaw, the current Miss Israel.

While acknowledging that assimilation and rejection are real, Mekonen said: "There's a lot of change from what happened in the '80s. We had the issue of language and communication and culture. They see us as different, but year-by-year, it's improved."

That's because the community isn't just sitting there taking it, he says.

"They don't give up. They're doing something. We have a voice."

If it's necessary to prove Sterling wrong (requisite disclaimer again: assuming it's him), Mekonen's message of empowerment flies in the face of the repeated theme on the tape that the world is racist and there's nothing you can do about it.

"It isn't a question. We don't evaluate what's right and wrong. We live in a society. We live in a culture. We have to live within that culture," the guy in the recording says to sum up his black Jew narrative — which, by the way, isn't clear about who he's referring to.

"Which people is he talking about when he says 'black Jews?'" asked Mekonen. "That could be people from North Africa, Asia, India, Israeli Arabs"— all with very different cultures.

Shocking. Can't believe that (a guy that sounds like) Sterling would stereotype them.

Follow us on Twitter @CNNOpinion.

Join us on http://ift.tt/1bl3g0P.

Banana thrown at soccer star so he ...

• Dani Alves eats banana thrown at him during a soccer match


• The Barcelona player was taking a corner at Villarreal's El Madrigal stadium


• NEW: FIFA president Sepp Blatter calls incident an "outrage"


• NEW: Villarreal find culprit and have banned him for life

Follow us at @WorldSportCNN and like us on Facebook

(CNN) -- Barcelona's Dani Alves reverted to humor when dealing with racist abuse but it has proved no laughing matter for the Villarreal fan who threw a banana at him during Sunday's match after being handed a life ban by the La Liga club.

Villarreal issued a statement Monday saying it "deeply regrets" the incident. "The club has identified the person responsible and has decided to withdraw his membership card and prohibit access to the El Madrigal Stadium for life," it added.

Brazilian international Alves was taking a corner during Barca's 3-2 win when the banana landed at his feet. Maintaining his composure, Alves picked up the banana, peeled it and took a bite and got on with the game.

"Dani Alves owned him," tweeted the Brazilian's teammate Neymar. "Take That bunch of Racists. We are all Monkeys So What."

Dani Alves has been applauded for his response to being racially abused during a football match. The Barcelona player had a banana thrown at him during Sunday's game at Villarreal, so he picked it up and took a bite out of it before continuing to play.

Alves' Barcelona and Brazil teammate Neymar was full of praise for his actions. Neymar tweeted: "Dani Alves owned him. Take that bunch of racists. We are all monkeys so what."

AC Milan's Kevin-Prince Boateng suffered abuse from fans friendly match against Pro Patria in January 3, 2013. Boateng stormed off the pitch after being subjected to racist chants.

Dani Alves bites back

Former England international Gary Lineker, who played for Barcelona, also applauded Alves' quick thinking. "Utterly brilliant reaction from Alves," tweeted Lineker. "Treat the racist berk with complete disdain."

Storify: Stars show solidarity with Alves

Meu pai sempre me falava: filho come banana que evita cãibra rsrs, como adivinharam isso? hahaha 🙊🍌🍌🙊... http://t.co/05cBcy8C4r

— Daniel Alves (@DaniAlvesD2) April 27, 2014

After the match, the 30-year-old Alves posted a clip of the incident on Instagram, joking his father had always told him to eat bananas to prevent cramp.

It's not the first time the Barcelona defender has been targeted -- in January 2013 Alves claimed he was abused during Barca's Copa del Rey semifinal match against archrivals Real Madrid.

England midfielder Danny Rose claims he was subjected to monkey chants before, during and after the second-leg of their Under-21 Euro 2013 playoff match against Serbia on Tuesday, and had stones thrown at him by the crowd in Krusevac. Fans also ran on to the pitch and scuffles broke out after a 1-0 win secured England qualification for Euro 2013.

The Macedonia FA were fined $26,000 after fans racially abused England trio Ashley Cole, Sol Campbell and Emile Heskey during a qualifying game for Euro 2004.

In September 2011, Bulgaria were fined $55,000 after a small number of fans directed monkey chants at England's Ashley Young, Cole and Theo Walcott during a Euro 2012 qualifier in Sofia.

Russia was hit with a $38,000 punishment after supporters made monkey noises towards Czech Republic defender Theodor Gebre Selassie during Euro 2012

The Croatian FA were ordered to pay a $16,000 fine after their fans were found guilty of "displaying a racist banner and showing racist conduct during the Euro 2008 quarter-final tie against Turkey.

Russia were again in the news for the wrong reasons at Euro 2012 and were fined $39,00 for "the setting off and throwing of fireworks by Russia spectators, displaying of illicit banners and the invasion of the pitch by a supporter," during the Euro 2012 tie against Poland. Russia was also fined $155,000 after clashes between supporters and police during and after their game against the Czech Republic.

Denmark's Nicklas Bendtner was given a one-match ban and a $126,000 fine after he lifted his shirt to reveal a betting company's logo on his underwear while celebrating a goal against Portugal in a Euro 2012 group game.

Porto were hit by a $27,000 fine after their fans were found guilty of subjecting Manchester City forward Mario Balotelli to monkey chants during a Europa League game in February 2012. It took UEFA six weeks to finally hand out a punishment. But questions were raised after UEFA also fined City $40,000 after the club were found guilty of coming back out on to the field of play late after the halftime interval.

Soccer racism in Eastern Europe

Tito Vilanova worked under Pep Guardiola as his assistant at Barcelona between 2008-2012. The pair helped transform the team into one of the greatest of all time, winning a whole host of trophies, including two Champions Leagues and three Spanish La Liga titles.

After Guardiola's departure, Vilanova took over the reins at Barca in 2012. He had to step down midway through the season to undergo surgery for cancer, but returned to the dugout to guide the club to the Spanish La Liga title.

Vilanova and Eric Abidal, who had been diagnosed with a liver tumor, share the honors as they lift the trophy for Barca's 22nd league title.

Vilanova and his assistant Jordi Roura celebrate as Barcelona win La Liga with a total of 100 points - the highest total in the club's history.

Vilanova's battle against cancer inspired support from the sporting world. In this photograph Real Madrid players show their support before a league game in 2012.

Vilanova was still leading Barcelona's training in July 2013 but was forced to resign his position later that month because of his ill health. Gerardo Martino succeeded him as Barcelona manager.

Vilanova was admitted to hospital Thursday, before news of his death, aged 45, broke Friday 25th April, 2014.

Tito Vilanova dies aged 45

Tito Vilanova dies aged 45

Tito Vilanova dies aged 45

Tito Vilanova dies aged 45

Tito Vilanova dies aged 45

Tito Vilanova dies aged 45

Tito Vilanova dies aged 45

Tito Vilanova dies aged 45

David Moyes was Sir Alex Ferguson's personal choice to succeed him as the next manager of Manchester United. The then-Everton boss signed a six-year deal on May 9 and took over the reins on July 1.

Moyes opened his account with a 2-0 win against Wigan in August to secure the English Charity Shield -- a match played between the league champions and the FA Cup holders -- while also becoming the first United manager since Walter Crickmer in April 1931 to start life with a victory.

Although Moyes followed up that success with a convincing 4-1 win at Swansea in the opening game of the English Premier League season, September brought defeats by rivals Liverpool and Manchester City, while West Bromwich Albion recorded its first victory at Old Trafford for 34 years.

Consistency proved to be a problem for United under Moyes. Back-to-back home defeats to former side Everton and Newcastle in December were then followed by six straight wins, only for the club to be knocked out of both domestic cup competitions in January.

Moyes oversaw the club-record signing of Juan Mata from Chelsea in January for £37.1 million ($61 million). The Scot often stated that similar big-money signings were set to follow this summer, with the board believed to be giving him time to rebuild his squad.

One of the bright sparks during Moyes' time at United was the form of Wayne Rooney, who the Scot worked with at Everton. Rooney has hit 17 goals this season and signed a new five-and-a-half-year contract in February worth £300k ($500k) per week.

Perhaps the high point of Moyes' time at the club was the Champions League last-16 defeat of Olympiakos as United turned around a 2-0 first-leg deficit to progress as 3-2 winners in March. The European adventure came to an end at the quarterfinal stage as holders Bayern Munich ultimately proved too strong.

Despite guiding United to the Champions League quarterfinals, March proved to be a miserable month for Moyes in the league. The pain of suffering a 3-0 loss at home to famous rivals Liverpool was compounded by the 3-0 derby defeat to Manchester City at Old Trafford just nine days later.

Despite the club's troubles under Moyes, many fans continued to back Ferguson's chosen successor. Patience soon started to wear thin, however, and one group of supporters even arranged for an aircraft to fly over Old Trafford during the 4-1 win against Aston Villa at the end of March, carrying a banner reading: "Wrong One -- Moyes Out."

Despite reiterating that he would be given more time, Moyes' final game in charge proved to be the 2-0 loss against former club Everton on Sunday -- the Scot's first return to Goodison Park since departing last summer. United announced Moyes' sacking on Tuesday, just 10 months into his six-year contract.

Moyes leaves last season's English champions in seventh place, with the club set for its lowest-ever Premier League points haul, while Champions League football is due to be absent at Old Trafford for the first time since the 1995-96 season.

David Moyes: The story of his season

David Moyes: The story of his season

David Moyes: The story of his season

David Moyes: The story of his season

David Moyes: The story of his season

David Moyes: The story of his season

David Moyes: The story of his season

David Moyes: The story of his season

David Moyes: The story of his season

David Moyes: The story of his season

David Moyes: The story of his season

David Moyes: The story of his season

"We have suffered this in Spain for some time," he told reporters. "You have to take it with a dose of humor."

"We aren't going to change things easily. If you don't give it importance, they don't achieve their objective."

As well as banning the culprit, Villarreal also said they would act swiftly again if a similar incident occurred in the future.

"Villarreal football club again states its firm stance in favor of respect, equality and good sportsmanship and a clean game both on the playing field and off it, and states its total rejection of any act that goes against those principles, such as violence, discrimination, racism or xenophobia."

Sunday's match was Barca's first game since the death of former coach Tito Vilanova on Friday.

Barca went 2-0 down against seventh-placed Villarreal before launching a stirring fightback in the final half hour.

Qué pena ver que un ignorante es capaz de algo tan lamentable. No cabe en el mundo del deporte y menos en nuestra casa. #NoAlRacismo

— Villarreal CF (@VillarrealCF) April 28, 2014

A Gabriel Paulista own-goal on 65 minutes gave Tata Martino's team hope before a second own goal, this time from Mateo Mussachio, levelled the match with 12 minutes remaining.

Argentina star Lionel Messi won the match for Barca in the 83rd minute to leave the Catalan club four points behind La Liga leaders Atletico Madrid with three matches left to play.

The two teams meet on the final day of the season.

Read: Advantage Atletico after Valencia win

During 2013 European football was hit by several incidents of racism, notably when Kevin Prince-Boateng walked off the pitch during a friendly match between his then club AC Milan and a lower-league Italian side.

That incident prompted FIFA to introduce tougher sanctions for racist abuse and the president of the world governing body, Sepp Blatter, was quick to condemn the treatment accorded to Alves.

He tweeted: "What @DaniAlvesD2 tolerated last night is an outrage. We must fight all forms of discrimination united. Will be zero tolerance at WorldCup."

If you don't give it importance, they don't achieve their objective

Dani Alves

Under the sanctions, punishments for first offenses bring a warning, fine or clubs being forced to play games in empty stadiums. A second offense, or one deemed "serious," could result in demotion, a deduction of points or expulsion from a tournament.

Liverpool's Luis Suarez was banned for eight matches in December 2011 after he was found guilty of racially abusing Manchester United's Patrice Evra.

A second lengthy ban was imposed on the Uruguayan towards the end of the 2012-13 season after Suarez bit Chelsea's Branislav Ivanovic, meaning he missed the first five games of the current Premier League season.

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

But since his return, Suarez has been sensational. He has scored 30 league goals to spearhead Liverpool's title challenge and on Sunday his contribution was recognized after he was named the Professional Footballers' Association Player of the Year.

It was a bittersweet day for Suarez with the award coming hours after Liverpool's 2-0 defeat against Chelsea.

The defeat ended Liverpool's 11-match winning run and handed the initiative to Manchester City in the race for the championship.

Read: Ronaldo brace in Real Madrid romp

Read: Ryan Giggs off to a winning start