Liverpool’s Premier League opening day victory against Bournemouth was marred by the incident of their supporter who racially abused striker, Antoine Semenyo.
The Black Stars forward, who was preparing for a throw-in, was racially abused by a Liverpool supporter, leading to the temporal suspension of the game by the referee.
Semenyo went ahead to score two goals in the second half in his team’s 4-2 defeat but the individual who racially abused him didn’t get to enjoy the rest of the game after the stunt he pulled.
According to the Merseyside Police, a 47-year-old man from Liverpool was identified and removed from Anfield shortly after the incident.
The individual, whose identify has been withheld by the police, was later arrested on Saturday, August 17, on suspicion of a racially-aggravated public order offence and taken into custody for questioning.
Liverpool captain Virgil van Dijk called the incident “a disgrace,” and said anti-racism campaigns need to do more to eradicate it from the game.
“The only thing we can do is deal with it by dealing with him personally and try to educate the next generation. That is the only way to try and kick it out, in my opinion,” he said.
CEO of the Premier League, Richard Masters, also added that; “No Premier League footballer should ever have to, in their workplace or online, suffer that sort of abuse. It is important that we keep saying that.
“It is a problem for society. It leaks into football, and it shouldn’t happen in a football stadium. It shouldn’t happen online.” He made the comments in an interview with the BBC.
Police ID and remove the Liverpool supporter suspected of racially abusing Bournemouth’s Antoine Semenyo at Anfield pic.twitter.com/MWKgMYMXUV
— Daily Mail Sport (@MailSport) August 15, 2025
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