A fan was identified and removed from Anfield on Friday for racially abusing Antoine Semenyo during Bournemouth’s 2-4 defeat to Liverpool in the Premier League 2025-26 season opener.
The Bournemouth attacker dealt with the incident in the first half. The match was paused by referee Anthony Taylor in the 29th minute after Semenyo reported that he faced racial abuse from a fan in the stands.
Taylor discussed with both managers, Arne Slot and Andoni Iraola, on the touchline, and also with skippers Virgil van Dijk and Adam Smith.
‘When will it stop?’: Semenyo
Meanwhile, Semenyo also reacted to the incident on his Instagram story, where he put a string of monkey emojis posted by one on one of his posts, and captioned it as, “When will it stop?”
Play resumed after a short break and the Premier League confirmed the incident in a strong statement.
“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.”
Meanwhile, Merseyside Police confirmed on Saturday that a 47-year-old man was removed from the ground and an investigation was underway.
Chief Inspector Kev Chatterton 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.”
The match saw Liverpool seal a 4-2 win, despite Semenyo at one point levelling proceedings at 2-2 with a brace.