Antoine Semenyo reported racially abusive behaviour from a spectator during Bournemouth's 4-2 defeat by Liverpool on the Premier League opening day. The match was paused while referee Anthony Taylor informed managers and captains about the allegation. Merseyside Police arrested a 47-year-old man on suspicion of a racially aggravated public order offence; bail conditions bar him from every UK football stadium. Semenyo called for tougher sanctions such as jail time or lifetime stadium bans. He scored twice after reporting the incident and said players cannot understand why racist incidents persist. Semenyo also received racist abuse online after the match. Premier League leadership pledged continued efforts to banish racism.
Bournemouth forward Antoine Semenyo says more should be done to tackle racism in football, including possible prison sentences for those convicted of abuse. Semenyo reported that he was racially abused by a spectator during his side's 4-2 defeat by Liverpool on the opening day of the Premier League season. The match was briefly paused while referee Anthony Taylor explained the allegations to both teams' managers and captains.
When asked what a maximum punishment should be for anyone convicted of racial abuse, Semenyo said: "It could be jail time, it could be banned from stadiums for a lifetime, it could be anything along the lines of that, but I feel like there has to be something else." Semenyo scored twice during the second half against Liverpool, after reporting his concerns to the referee.
He said footballers cannot understand why incidents of racism in stadiums have been so widespread, adding that they "want to know why it keeps happening". The Ghana international also said he was racially abused online immediately after the match at Liverpool. "Someone has felt the need to come online and do that, so that made me angry, to be honest. Why would you want to do that?" he said.
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