Arne Slot says that racism has no place in football after Antoine Semenyo reported being racially abused by a spectator at Anfield on Friday night. The Premier League opener between Liverpool and Bou...
Arne Slot says that racism has no place in football after Antoine Semenyo reported being racially abused by a spectator at Anfield on Friday night.
The Premier League opener between Liverpool and Bournemouth was briefly stopped by referee Anthony Taylor after he was informed of the incident by Semenyo. Taylor stopped play in the 29th minute before talking to both managers on the touchline. The match resumed four minutes later, while the game was scoreless.
Merseyside Police said a 47-year-old man was ejected from the ground following reports of racist abuse directed towards the Cherries forward and it is now investigating.
Semenyo went on to score a second-half brace to cancel out goals from Hugo Ekitike and Cody Gakpo, but late strikes from substitute Federico Chiesa and Mo Salah secured a 4-2 win for the Reds.
Semenyo posted another example of racist abuse he had received on Instagram with the caption: “When will it stop?”
Bournemouth captain Adam Smith said he was “shocked” by the incident and “something needs to be done”.
“Totally unacceptable,” he told Sky Sports. “Kind of in shock it happened in this day and age. I don’t know how Ant has carried on playing and come up with these goals.
“He’s a little bit down – something needs to be done. Taking a knee has taken no effect. We’ve supported him and hopefully he’ll be OK.
“I wanted him to react [after scoring] – that’s what I’d have done. I’d have gone straight over there. It shows what kind of man he is to report it to the ref and carry on. Fair play to Ant.”
Smith added that he felt “anger” at the incident and had called for the culprit to be removed from the stadium immediately.
“I said to the ref I wanted him removed immediately but the police went and sorted it,” the defender said. “The Liverpool players were very supportive to Ant and the rest of the team. Just so angry.
“We’ve had discussions with the Premier League about it so they have been taking it seriously. I don’t know what else we can do.
“We’ve been doing it for a long time now and no-one is getting it. I just feel sorry for Ant and he’s had to take that. The whole country is watching and it’s shocking.”
Liverpool issued a statement after the game in which they “condemn racism and discrimination in all forms”, adding that “it has no place in society or football” and it will fully support the ongoing investigation.
Arne Slot condemns alleged racist abuse of Antoine Semenyo
Liverpool head coach Arne Slot told Sky Sports: “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 it (game) a bit because our fans were amazing, especially with the tributes to Diogo (Jota).”
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Category: General Sports
