Antoine Semenyo has broken his silence after he reported racist abuse directed towards him during the first half of Bournemouth’s opening Premier League game against Liverpool on Friday evening.
Merseyside Police have confirmed they have opened investigations into the incident, with chief inspector Kev Chatterton announcing: "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.”
They also took to social media to confirm the individual had been ejected from the stadium: “A 47-year-old man was ejected from Anfield Stadium tonight, at Liverpool's opening game of the season against Bournemouth, after racial abuse was directed towards one of the Bournemouth players.”
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The alleged incident took place just 30 minutes into the game as the Ghanaian winger was due to take a throw-in.
The game was halted for three minutes according to Premier League protocol as both managers were informed of the situation | PA**SIGN UP FOR OUR FREE DAILY GB NEWS SPORTS NEWSLETTER HERE**
Semenyo, who bagged two brilliant goals for the Cherries in the second half to mount a short-lived comeback, took to social media to express his frustrations.
“When will it stop…” he wrote, along with a screenshot of a comment that he had received online that included monkey emojis.
Liverpool also released an official statement on their social media pages: "Liverpool Football Club is aware of an allegation of racist abuse made during our Premier League game against AFC Bournemouth.
Antoine Semenyo issued a plea online after he received a comment with monkey emojis
|"We condemn racism and discrimination in all forms, it has no place in society or football.
"The club is unable to comment further as tonight's alleged incident is the subject of an ongoing police investigation, which we will support fully."
The game was halted for three minutes while both managers were informed by referee Anthony Taylor, according to Premier League protocol.
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After the game, Reds boss Arne Slot condemned the alleged incident: "The club made a clear statement. We don't want this in football, we don't want this happening in stadiums, especially not at Anfield.
"We should talk about this for a long time because we do not want this at Anfield. It takes the shine off [the game] a bit because our fans were amazing, especially with the tributes to Diogo [Jota].”
The game marked the first competitive fixture at Anfield since Diogo Jota’s tragic death along with his brother, Andre Silva.
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Arne Slot condemned the alleged incident after the game
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Tributes for the Portuguese forward moved Egyptian star Mo Salah after the game, in which he scored a late goal to secure the three points for the Merseyside club. He cut an emotional figure following the contest as he applauded the Kop End.
Semenyo’s alleged abuse follows a similar incident on Wednesday after Tottenham Hotspur lost to PSG on penalties in the Super Cup final.
French winger Mathys Tel was the subject of racist abuse on social media after he missed a penalty during the shoot-out.
The north London club said they were “disgusted” by the abuse and that the former Bayern Munich forward “showed bravery and courage” while condemning the abusers as “cowards”.