Referee Anthony Taylor speaks with Liverpool manager Arne Slot and Bournemouth manager Andoni Iraola after Bournemouth's Antoine Semenyo, not pictured, informed the referee of a possible racial comment from the crowd during the English Premier League soccer match between Liverpool and Bournemouth at Anfield, Liverpool, England, Friday Aug. 15, 2025. (Peter Byrne/PA via AP)
Referee Anthony Taylor speaks with Liverpool manager Arne Slot and Bournemouth manager Andoni Iraola after Bournemouth's Antoine Semenyo, not pictured, informed the referee of a possible racial comment from the crowd during the English Premier League soccer match between Liverpool and Bournemouth at Anfield, Liverpool, England, Friday Aug. 15, 2025. (Peter Byrne/PA via AP)
Bournemouth's Antoine Semenyo celebrates scoring their side's second goal of the game during the English Premier League soccer match between Liverpool and Bournemouth at Anfield in Liverpool, England, Friday, Aug. 15, 2025. (Peter Byrne/PA via AP)
LIVERPOOL, England (AP) — Police launched a hate crime investigation after ejecting a 47-year-old fan from Liverpool's stadium for his alleged racial abuse of Bournemouth forward Antoine Semenyo during the opening match of the Premier League season.
The when Semenyo, who is Black, 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.
“Merseyside Police will not tolerate hate crime of any form,†said Chief Inspector Kev Chatterton, the match commander.
The fan's identity was confirmed and he was removed from the stadium, police added.
“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,†Chatterton said.
Semenyo, who scored both of Bournemouth's goals in , later posted further racial abuse that he received online.
“When will it stop,†the 25-year-old Ghana international wrote on his Instagram account.
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.â€
In a statement, Liverpool said it was aware of the allegation and that it condemns “racism and discrimination in all forms.â€
“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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