Antoine Semenyo receives racist abuse online as well as in stadium with statement issued

Antoine Semenyo receives racist abuse online as well as in stadium with a statement issued after Liverpool’s 4-2 win at home to Bournemouth.

Friday’s opening Premier League game came to a halt in the first half after the Cherries forward had reported being racially abused by someone in the Anfield crowd.

Merseyside Police confirm the fan was ejected out of the stadium, with an investigation launched into the matter. But sadly Semenyo has taken to social media to call out more racist abuse he received on Instagram.

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

Semenyo played on and netted twice in 12 second-half minutes to put the Cherries level for a brief time, before the reigning champions grabbed two late goals to take all three points.

Merseyside Police said in a statement: We can confirm a 47-year-old man has been ejected from Anfield Stadium following reports of racist abuse directed towards the Bournemouth player Antoine Semenyo at this evening’s opening game of the season between Liverpool and Bournemouth.

An investigation is underway after the man’s identity was confirmed and he was removed from the ground.

Chief Inspector Kev Chatterton the match commander for the Liverpool v Bournemouth game, said:  “Merseyside Police will not tolerate hate crime of any form.

“We take incidents like this very seriously, and in cases like this we will  be proactively seeking football banning orders, with the club, against those responsible.”

He added: “There is no place for racism and it is vital that anyone who witnesses such an offence reports it to stewards, or the police immediately, so we can take the necessary action like we did this evening.

“As with all matches, we work very closely with both Liverpool and Everton FC to ensure the safety of the public , and the players.”

A spokesperson for Liverpool Football Club, said: “Liverpool Football Club is aware of an allegation of racist abuse made during our Premier League game against Bournemouth.

“We condemn racism and discrimination in all forms, it has no place in society, or football.

“The club is unable to comment further as tonight’s alleged is incident is the subject of an ongoing police investigation, which we will support fully.”

Semenyo took to Instagram after the game to show more racist abuse he had received, with the caption: “When will it stop?”

Bournemouth’s Adam Smith said he was “shocked” by the incident and “something needs to be done”.

“Totally unacceptable,” he told Sky Sports. “Kind of in shock it happened in this day and age. I don’t know how Ant has carried on playing and come up with these goals.

“He’s a little bit down – something needs to be done. Taking a knee has taken no effect. We’ve supported him and hopefully he’ll be OK.

“I wanted him to react [after scoring] – that’s what I’d have done. I’d have gone straight over there. It shows what kind of man he is to report it to the ref and carry on. Fair play to Ant.”

On his feelings regarding the abuse, he said “it’s more anger” and he had called for immediate action against the culprit.

“I said to the ref I wanted him removed immediately but the police went and sorted it. The Liverpool players were very supportive to Ant and the rest of the team. Just so angry.

“We’ve had discussions with the Premier League about it so they have been taking it seriously. I don’t know what else we can do.

“We’ve been doing it for a long time now and no-one is getting it. I just feel sorry for Ant and he’s had to take that. The whole country is watching and it’s shocking.”

An anti-discrimination message was announced via the tannoy to the fans in the stands around Anfield after the half-time whistle had blown.

In a statement issued at full-time, the Football Association said: “We are very concerned about the allegation of discrimination from an area of the crowd, which was reported to the match officials during the Premier League fixture between Liverpool and Bournemouth.

“Incidents of this nature have no place in our game, and we will work closely with the match officials, the clubs and the relevant authorities to establish the facts and ensure the appropriate action is taken.”

Liverpool said a statement after the game: “Liverpool Football Club is aware of an allegation of racist abuse made during our Premier League game against AFC Bournemouth.

“We condemn racism and discrimination in all forms, it has no place in society or football.

“The club is unable to comment further as tonight’s alleged incident is the subject of an ongoing police investigation, which we will support fully.”

Liverpool head coach Arne Slot told Sky Sports: “The club made a clear statement. We don’t want this in football, we don’t want this happening in stadiums, especially not at Anfield.

“We should talk about this for a long time because we do not want this at Anfield. It takes the shine off it (game) a bit because our fans were amazing, especially with the tributes to Diogo.”

Premier League Match Centre, external posted on Twitter during the match: “Tonight’s match between Liverpool Football Club and AFC Bournemouth was temporarily paused during the first half after a report of discriminatory abuse from the crowd, directed at Bournemouth’s Antoine Semenyo.

“This is in line with the Premier League’s on-field anti-discrimination protocol. The incident at Anfield will now be fully investigated. We offer our full support to the player and both clubs.

“Racism has no place in our game, or anywhere in society. We will continue to work with stakeholders and authorities to ensure our stadiums are an inclusive and welcoming environment for all.”

Kick It Out said they “stand in solidarity” with Semenyo and added: “Thirty minutes into the first Premier League game of the season, and Bournemouth’s Antoine Semenyo is racially abused by someone in the crowd.

“Two nights ago, Tottenham’s Mathys Tel was racially abused online. This is a stark reminder of an ugly reality: black players are facing this every week.

“We stand in solidarity with Antoine and can’t praise him enough for his courage in calling this out after such a distressing episode before going on to score twice.

“Anthony Taylor and his refereeing team also deserve credit for acting swiftly and decisively. We will keep pushing to kick this disgusting behaviour out of the game through punishments, accountability and education, but football still has a long way to go.”

Arne Slot addresses the abuse Antoine Semenyo faced:

🗣️”It’s unacceptable in every football stadium, let alone at Anfield…big credits to him if something happens like this and you can perform so well in the second half.” pic.twitter.com/L7t5z2SHqR

— AnfieldIndex (@AnfieldIndex) August 15, 2025