Antoine Semenyo Suffers Racist Abuse During Liverpool vs Bournemouth Clash
Liverpool’s 4-2 win over Bournemouth at Anfield on Friday was overshadowed by a shocking incident of racist abuse aimed at Antoine Semenyo.
The winger, who struck twice in 12 minutes to stun the home crowd, reported the abuse to referee Anthony Taylor in the 29th minute. Taylor immediately halted the game, consulting with captains Virgil van Dijk and Adam Smith as well as managers Arne Slot and Andoni Iraola, before play resumed.
After the match, Bournemouth captain Adam Smith gave a frank interview with Sky Sports, addressing the incident, while Semenyo later revealed he had also been subjected to vile messages on Instagram, sharing one with the caption: “When will it stop?”
Meta, which owns Instagram, confirmed it is investigating the abuse, removing offending comments and disabling the accounts involved.
Police and Club Action
Merseyside Police confirmed a 47-year-old man was removed from Anfield following reports of racist abuse directed at Semenyo. The force added it is investigating further, with Chief Inspector Kev Chatterton stating:
“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.”
Iraola’s Reaction
Speaking post-match, Bournemouth manager Andoni Iraola admitted he had not heard the abuse live but was made aware of the situation during the stoppage.
“I didn’t notice at first because a lot of people were shouting,” he told Sky Sports.
“But Antoine and the referee explained the situation to both managers. To be fair, I think from the Liverpool side they identified the person quickly.”
The incident has been widely condemned across football, with fans and pundits calling for stronger measures to protect players from racial abuse both inside stadiums and online.
The 43-year-old Bournemouth boss reflected with disappointment that such an incident marred what had otherwise been an excellent Premier League opener.
“It’s a real shame that in the very first game of the season—one that was a fantastic contest between two committed sides—we have to end up talking about this,” Iraola said.
“We’d like to believe these problems were behind us, but clearly they are not. We must keep reinforcing the message, because racism remains a serious issue—not only in football, but in society as a whole.”
He added that the spotlight should have been on the quality of football on display, not the incident that forced the stoppage.
“It’s frustrating, because all the headlines will now focus on this instead of what was an excellent game, with both teams playing at a very high level in the season opener. Unfortunately, this shows there is still work to be done.”
