LIVERPOOL, England (AP) — Bournemouth forward Antoine Semenyo thanked his teammates, Liverpool's players and the soccer community as a whole for the “overwhelming messages of support” he received after reporting that he was racially abused by a fan during the Premier League's season opener at Anfield.
Police have launched a hate crime investigation after ejecting a 47-year-old fan from Liverpool's stadium for his alleged racial abuse of Semenyo, who is Black, during Friday's match.
“Last night at Anfield will stay with me forever — not because of one person’s words, but because of how the entire football family stood together,” Semenyo posted Saturday on his social media accounts.
“The overwhelming messages of support from across the football world remind me why I love this sport. We keep moving forward, together.”
The incident occurred Friday night when Semenyo reported the abuse to referee Anthony Taylor in the first half with the score at 0-0. Play was briefly stopped while Taylor spoke to both coaches and team captains.
“To my (Bournemouth) teammates who supported me in that moment, to the (Liverpool) players and fans who showed their true character, to the (Premier League) officials who handled it professionally — thank you,” Semenyo wrote. “Football showed its best side when it mattered most.”
The 25-year-old Ghana international scored both of Bournemouth’s goals in the 4-2 loss.
“Scoring those two goals felt like speaking the only language that truly matters on the pitch,” he wrote. “This is why I play — for moments like these, for my teammates, for everyone who believes in what this beautiful game can be.”
The fan’s identity was confirmed and he was removed from the stadium, police said.
“Merseyside Police will not tolerate hate crime of any form," said Chief Inspector Kev Chatterton, the match commander. “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."
Shortly after the game, Semenyo had posted further racial abuse that he received online and added: “When will it stop..."
Bournemouth players had consoled Semenyo and an anti-discrimination message was read out to the crowd inside Anfield after the halftime whistle.
The Premier League also said it will investigate the incident and “offer our full support to the player and both clubs.”
In a statement, Liverpool said it was aware of the allegation and that it condemns “racism and discrimination in all forms.”
“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,” it added late Friday.
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The Associated Press
