A Liverpool season ticket holder claims to have witnessed Friday's incident involving Antoine Semenyo, with the Bournemouth star reporting racist abuse.
The contest at Anfield was halted after 30 minutes, with Semenyo informing Anthony Taylor that he'd been racially abused by a home supporter.
Merseyside Police have since confirmed a 47-year-old fan was removed from the ground and that an investigation was under way.
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Now, season ticket holder Nick Collins has taken to X to provide new insight - suggesting the fan in question threw gum at Semenyo and 'often takes things way too far'.
A Liverpool season ticket holder claims to have witnessed Friday's incident involving Antoine Semenyo, with the Bournemouth star reporting racist abuse
|GETTY
He wrote: “So this fella has had his season ticket for many years at Anfield. He’s passionate but often takes things way too far, but it is what it is.
“He has crossed the line before by throwing stuff at officials (usually chewing gum) and stewards looked embarrassed rather than do anything. So I guess that’s allowed his behaviour to escalate maybe in his brain.
“About 28 minutes into the game, Semenyo goes to take a throw in. He’s not a player that goads the fans and seems like a decent lad – the sort of player that people want playing for their club.
“For reasons I’ll never know, the fella near me in bay seven (I’m bay nine) decides to go over to him in his wheelchair and shout something at Semenyo.
“Semenyo then asks him to repeat it and he repeated it and threw his chewing gum at him.
“Then, two minutes later, the play is stopped. The fella next to me says he hopes he hasn’t said anything racist to Semenyo, but then I’m getting texts from people saying it’s about the fan in the wheelchair allegedly abusing Semenyo.
“We missed the first goal because all of us were uncomfortable being around this guy, who’s now sat in silence, probably realising what he’s done and he’s soon to be in the s**t.
“We didn’t want him near us and people (including myself) were calling him a racist p***k.
"It was just uncomfortable to be around and we wanted him gone. The stewards didn’t have a clue what was going on either.
“He was eventually removed from the ground at 21:01 by police, firstly saying he’d refuse to move and wouldn’t leave but then agreeing to leave then kicking off.
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Anthony Taylor stopped the match between Liverpool and Bournemouth on Friday after Antoine Semenyo reported racist abuse
|PA
“I’d gone to the toilet by this point but saw him kicking off near the exit.
“I believe there is some kind of protocol where the police have to remove them and not stewards, and they have to get a sort of investigation going first. That’s why it took them 30 minutes to get him out of the ground.
“So the club now have to help the police with an investigation and rightly so. If he’s found to have racially abused Semenyo, he needs to be banned for life. No excuses.
“Another fan chimed in saying ‘Semenyo didn’t look upset’, so sorta sticking up for the abuser or playing devil’s advocate, but he just looked shocked to me which is probably why he asked him to repeat himself.
“So props to Semenyo for having the brilliant game he had. All three goalscorers were black, which was quite fitting really. The irony is, the fella had a ‘no room for racism’ badge on his shirt."
The incident overshadowed a match that was a fitting start to the new season.
Semenyo scored twice for Bournemouth, despite suffering the abuse from the stands, with Hugo Ekitike, Cody Gakpo, Federico Chiesa and Mohamed Salah netting for Liverpool.
After the game, Semenyo shared a message he'd received from a football fan that contained seven monkey emojis.
The Bournemouth star wrote: "When will it stop......"
Both managers also condemned the abuse Semenyo received.
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Antoine Semenyo scored twice for Bournemouth against Liverpool as the defending champions won their Premier League opener
|REUTERS
Bournemouth boss Andoni Iraola said: "Straight away Antoine and the referee told us.
"The person has been identified. It is a big shame these things keep happening.
"First game of the season, a lovely game of football and I have to speak about these things happening. A big shame."
And Liverpool manager Arne Slot said: : "It is obvious we do not want this in football. We definitely don't want this at Anfield.
"Unfortunately, it is part of the story because we should talk about the great tribute for Diogo Jota. This should never happen in football, let alone Anfield."