Chicago Fire striker Sherjill MacDonald says he was surprised by the recent behaviour of fans in Holland.
FC Den Bosch supporters racially abused AZ Alkmaar and USA striker Jozy Altidore during a KNVB Cup match and Amsterdam-born MacDonald, who came through the Ajax youth system, admits it was in disbelief to hear of such conduct in his home country.
"I'm really in shock that this happened [to Altidore], but I mostly didn't have a problem with this in Holland or in Belgium," the former West Bromwich Albion and Germinal Beerschot man told MLSsoccer.com.
"In a small village like Den Bosch, they're not really used to different cultures, so maybe that's why. But in Amsterdam and bigger cities, we don't really have problems with this.
"It's still a shame that this thing still happens.
"I think that the best solution is to give these people the least amount of attention. If you stop the game, you get them attention and this is what they want."
And MacDonald feels that the way Altidore handled the situation, by persuading the referee to keep the game going, is a better way to deal with rather than walking off like AC Milan's Kevin Prince-Boateng did in Italy recently.
"What Jozy Altidore did is the best decision to do. If you let the referee stop the game, you give people attention and they win," he added.
"I'd never do what Boateng did. I understand it, but I would never do it that way."
