His name is Papakouli Diop.

He didn’t trend on Twitter because he wasn’t famous enough.

The stars that queued up to take those ridiculous banana selfies for Dani Alves won’t be doing the same for him because they too had probably never heard of him before Sunday night.

And the chances are that most people will have forgotten his name by the end of this week.

Yet the pictures of the way that the Levante midfielder was demeaned during THAT game against Atletico Madrid illustrate just why there is no “fight” against racism in Spanish football.

There is no will to stamp out the problem. No drive to blow apart the culture within which so-called “supporters” feel empowered enough to hurl monkey chants and bananas with impunity.

There is only complacency. Arrogance and denial. Heads in the sand and a preference to look the other way rather than deal with such trivia.

Check the pictures out again if you don’t believe me.

For goodness’ sake, you had police there. You also had stewards, players and a global audience for a match involving the Champions League finalists and the team bidding to smash the stranglehold on La Liga held by Barcelona and Real Madrid. Millions were watching.

And yet STILL those fans felt emboldened enough to make those circles with their arms, suggesting Diop was a monkey.

Actually he is a human being, just like you and me. He has a family, just like you and me. He had people he knows watching him being humiliated and demeaned and derided.

Are you really telling me that in 2014, in a multi-billion pound sport involving a first-world nation, that is acceptable?

Are you really telling me that there is nothing that can be done to stop that?

I refuse to believe it. I refuse to believe anybody who tells me that there is no draconian sanction that would stun Spain into tackling this cancer within.

(VIDEO) Nuevo caso de racismo se presentó en el fútbol español. La víctima: Pape Diop: http://t.co/cqddrSsiVK pic.twitter.com/wjGLJrVzKE

— Mega Fútbol (@Mega_Futbol) May 5, 2014

I refuse to believe that FIFA or UEFA cannot rip up the rule book and step in. Because that is the reason why we are where we are. Procedure and buck passing and sitting on hands.

There ARE punishments that would get Spanish football taking a long, hard look at itself. There ARE uncomfortable decisions that will get the people that run the game over there stamping their feet in anger.

Forget financial penalties. They are not working. Forget cliches and condemnation. They don’t affect the fans. They don’t care.

Forget warnings. Dani Alves, remember, said the other day that he has been racially abused in football grounds up and down the country for ELEVEN YEARS. Nobody is listening to any warnings.

Diop himself said on Sunday night: “It’s a lack of respect you get at all stadiums. It’s a provocation. I don’t know if you can call it racism but these monkey chants have to stop.”

Yes, education may be needed. But first you need to shake – no, smash – the Spanish game into actually ACCEPTING that action is needed. That is why, as a starting point, you need a sledgehammer to crack this nut.

If it means closing their stadia – close them.

If it means banning them from the European Championships or the World Cup – ban them.

If it means deducting points then deduct them.

In what other industry would the racism we saw on Sunday night be tolerated?

This isn’t just the second incident in a week. This is the umpteenth incident this season.

Yet rather than condemn it and explore hard-hitting ways to address it we have people pointing the finger back across at the UK and sneering: “Well, what about you? You have people voting for UKIP!”

Yes we do. And that is their choice. And those are their views. But at least we have made an effort within our football to TRY to prevent extreme views manifesting themselves on the terraces at our football matches.

We don’t always succeed. For too long the English game has failed.

But at least we now have a firm set of guidelines to deal with racism, whether it is player on player or from supporters at matches.

England is far, far from perfect but at least they no longer turn a blind eye when it is so up in their faces that they are practically nose to nose with it.

Spanish football is not interested in fighting racism. It gets the best players. It has some of the best entertainment and stars over there see it as a footballing paradise.

But all that comes at a price. That price is having to check your dignity in at the door rather than risk it being trampled on and torn apart by the xenophobes being allowed to run riot at stadia all over what is a beautiful country.

What players should do is ignore the concerns over the logistical nightmare it would present and walk off the pitch.

Walk off the pitch and force clubs into taking responsibility for controlling their supporters.

Walk off the pitch in protest at the ritual humiliation they are forced to endure at the hands of hundreds in front of thousands every week.

Walk off the pitch to prove that money isn’t everything and that being afforded the same respect as their white counterparts is far more important.

The really brutal truth is that too many black players are worried about the repercussions – or simply taking the view that the financial rewards are worth the abuse.

Yet it was African American Gold medallist Tommie Smith who showed true courage in making that infamous salute at the 1968 Olympics.

He was booed by the Mexico City crowd as he left the podium. Undaunted, however, he said afterwards: “We are black and we are proud of being black. Black America will understand what we did tonight.”

White AND black Europe would understand if a black footballer in Spain took a similar stand.

Although both Smith and bronze medallist John Carlos – who also performed the salute – made front pages around the world, the hostility they received is extensively documented.

Clearly there are many in football who believe the aggravation is simply not worth the risk.

It is a shame, because it means nobody is willing to stand up to Spanish football and tell the truth – that right now they are completely incapable of protecting their players from the country’s racist element among their fans.

If it is only 100 or 200 spoiling it for the other 80,000 then maybe the others will feel affronted enough at being tarred with the same brush to self-police and root out the racists.

Even then, however, they will all be more focused on what is shaping up to be a fabulous, nerve-shredding finish to the La Liga season with Atletico, Barca and Real Madrid all in with a chance of first place.

And that is the problem with this industry. Too few people can see past the football.