Aug 15 – Liverpool’s Premier League opener against Bournemouth was briefly halted on Friday night after visiting forward Antoine Semenyo reported being racially abused from the crowd at Anfield.
In the 29th minute, referee Anthony Taylor halted the game during a Liverpool corner, calling both managers to the sidelines.Captains Virgil van Dijk and Adam Smith were also called over for instructions before the match resumed four minutes later with the score still goalless. At halftime, an anti-discrimination message was read out to the crowd.
Semenyo, 25, responded on the pitch by scoring twice in 12 second-half minutes as Bournemouth briefly drew level. However, defending champions Liverpool sealed a 4-2 victory with two late goals.
Following the game, Semenyo revealed further racist abuse directed at him on Instagram, posting: “When will it stop?”
Bournemouth captain Adam Smith said he was “shocked” by the incident.
“Totally unacceptable. I don’t know how Ant carried on playing and came up with those goals. Something needs to be done. Taking the knee has had no effect,” Smith told Sky Sports.
Merseyside Police confirmed a 47-year-old man had been ejected from Anfield and an investigation is under way. “We will proactively seek football banning orders against those responsible,” Chief Inspector Kev Chatterton said.
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Liverpool released a statement condemning the abuse and pledged full support to the investigation. “Racism and discrimination have no place in society or football,” the club said.
Manager Arne Slot echoed those words: “We don’t want this in football, especially not at Anfield. It takes the shine off a great game and the amazing support our fans showed.”
Bournemouth coach Andoni Iraola called it “a big shame these things keep happening,” adding: “It was a lovely game of football and we should not have to be speaking about this.”
The Football Association said it was “very concerned” and promised to work with officials, clubs and authorities to ensure appropriate action is taken. The Premier League also confirmed the incident will be fully investigated under its on-field anti-discrimination protocol.
Anti-racism organisation Kick It Out expressed solidarity with Semenyo, calling the episode “a stark reminder of an ugly reality: Black players are facing this every week.”
The incident comes just days after Tottenham’s Mathys Tel was subjected to racist abuse online following his missed penalty in the UEFA Super Cup against Paris Saint-Germain. Recent months have also seen England defender Jess Carter and internationals Marcus Rashford, Jadon Sancho and Bukayo Saka targeted in similar incidents.
Despite the victory, Slot admitted the events overshadowed Liverpool’s performance: “We should be talking about football tonight, but we also have to talk about this — because we never want it to happen again.”
