Antoine Semenyo speaks out after receiving vile racist message following Liverpool vs Bournemouth
Antoine Semenyo was subjected to vile racist abuse on social media following the incident during Liverpool vs. Bournemouth.
Liverpool beat Bournemouth 4-2 in a thrilling game at Anfield on Friday.
But the Premier League opener was marred by the racist abuse Semenyo suffered during the fixture.
In the 29th minute, referee Anthony Taylor paused the match after being told of the abuse by the star winger, who scored two goals in 12 minutes.
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Taylor spoke with both captains, Virgil van Dijk and Adam Smith, and Arne Slot and Andoni Iraola on the touchline before resuming the game.
After the result, Smith conducted a post-match interview with Sky Sports and gave a candid reaction to the Semenyo abuse.
Unfortunately, Semenyo was abused further on social media. He shared a disgusting message he had received on Instagram, with the caption: "When will it stop?"
Meta claim they are investigation the racist abuse sent to Semenyo on Instagram following the game.
Per Sky Sports, the social media platform are removing comments and disabling the offending accounts.
What happened to the fan who abused Antoine Semenyo and what have the police said?
After Semenyo reported the racist abuse to Taylor, officials, including Merseyside Police, inside Anfield acted swiftly.
Merseyside Police said a 47-year-old man was ejected from the stadium following reports of racist abused aimed at the 25-year-old and it is now investigating the matter.
Chief inspector Kev Chatterton said: "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."
What did Bournemouth manager Andoni Iraola say about Antoine Semenyo?
Like Cherries skipper Smith, Iraola also spoke to Sky Sports following the match and was asked about the Semenyo racist incident.
He explained the situation from his perspective, having been approached by Taylor.
"I didn't notice live because a lot of people were shouting," he said.
"But straight away, Antoine and the ref both explained the situation to both managers. To be fair, I think from the Liverpool side they have identified this person."
The 43-year-old added: "It's a shame that in the first game of the Premier League, a very good game of football between two teams that are fighting for their side, but playing a really good game.
"We have to start talking about things that probably we considered already from the past. But obviously they are not from the past.
"We have to continue reinforcing the messages. And it's a big shame. It's a big shame because the end most of the news will be about this thing. And they have to be about the thing because obviously something that still is a big problem, not just in football, but overall and also in football.
"We should be talking about what a good game it has been. Two teams playing well in the first game of the season. And probably we'll be talking about other things."
Topics: Liverpool, Bournemouth, Premier League, Football
Nasir Jabbar