The Premier League is back. The thrills and excitemnt has already begun. It started on Friday with champions Liverpool taking on Bournemouth. It was an exciting match as Bournemouth came from 2-0 down to level it 2-2 before Federico Chiesa and Mohamed Salah scored two late goals to secure a 4-2 win and grab all three points at Anfield.
Amid all this action and drama, a racist remark took place and towards Bournemouth's Antoine Semenyo. It was done by a Liverpool supporter in a wheelchair. A whole big story has come out of it as a result.
The force said the man was arrested on Saturday on suspicion of a racially-aggravated public order offence and has been taken into custody to be interviewed.
Semenyo reported being racially abused by a spectator to referee, Anthony Taylor, who stopped play in the 29th minute on Friday and a 47-year-old man was ejected from Anfield.
Semenyo was also subjected to racist abuse on Instagram on Friday night. The 25-year-old shared some of the abuse on his story, with the caption: "When will it stop?"
Meta has said that it is investigating the issue. It's understood the social media company are removing comments and disabling the offending accounts.
Semenyo said the response to the incident showed football at its best, "when it mattered most." The incident was strongly condemned by representatives of both teams, while the Premier League has said it will launch a full investigation.
Writing on social media on Saturday, Semenyo, who scored two goals before Liverpool claimed a 4-2 win, said: "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."
"To my Bournemouth team-mates 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. Football showed its best side when it mattered most."
"Scoring those two goals felt like speaking the only language that truly matters on the pitch. This is why I play - for moments like these, for my team-mates, for everyone who believes in what this beautiful game can be."
"The overwhelming messages of support from across the football world remind me why I love this sport. We keep moving forward, together."
In a statement released on Sunday, Kick It Out said: "It has been a depressing start to the season as racist incidents quickly stack up. Although this might appear symptomatic of the current climate right now, clubs have shown this week there is no tolerance for this type of behaviour."
"But that is only made clear when authorities move swiftly and decisively to hold offenders to account. Football must remain firm in standing up to every incident of discrimination this season and be transparent about its collective actions so that everyone can see how effectively this is being tackled."
Liverpool captain, Virgil van Dijk, believes football has to continue to try to educate the next generation about racism. "The only thing we can do is deal with it by dealing with him personally and try to educate the next generation," Van Dijk said. "That is the only way to try and kick it out, in my opinion."
"I can't believe it. These things shouldn't happen but unfortunately it does and it is an absolute disgrace in my eyes."
"First and foremost these things should never happen in the world, not only football. But in general racism is not of this world in my opinion, but if we are to be realistic, unfortunately, it still exists and that is the painful side of it."
In a statement, the Premier League said they would also be conducting an investigation.
The Football Association added: "Incidents of this nature have no place in our game, and we will work closely with the match officials, the clubs and the relevant authorities to establish the facts and ensure the appropriate action is taken."
The anti-discrimination body, Kick It Out, said they, "stand in solidarity with Antoine and can't praise him enough for his courage in calling this out after such a distressing episode before going on to score twice."
"Anthony Taylor and his refereeing team also deserve credit for acting swiftly and decisively."
Liverpool manager, Arne Slot, said the incident, "takes the shine off [the game] a bit because our fans were amazing, especially with the tributes to Diogo." Liverpool forward, Diogo Jota, died at the age of 28 in a car crash in northern Spain in July, alongside his brother Andre Silva, 25.
A rendition of 'You'll Never Walk Alone' before kick-off was followed by a period of silence as a fan-led mosaic in the Kop and Sir Kenny Dalglish stand were held up to read 'DJ20' and 'AS30'. "We have to deal with it in the here and now."
Merseyside Police said after the game: "Merseyside Police will not tolerate hate crime of any form. 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."
The incident came two days after Tottenham's Mathys Tel received racist abuse online after missing a penalty in his side's Super Cup win against Paris Saint-Germain.
Merseyside Police subsequently said a 47-year-old man was removed from the ground and an investigation was under way after his identity was confirmed.
A nearby spectator to the incident was able to explain in more detail what happened and the surrounding fansā reactions. Season ticket holder, Nick Collins, who, like the alleged perpetrator, watches at Anfield from a wheelchair, wrote on X:
"So this fella has had his season ticket for many years at Anfield. Heās passionate but often takes things way too far, but it is what it is."
"He has crossed the line before by throwing stuff at officials (usually chewing gum) and stewards looked embarrassed rather than do anything. So I guess thatās allowed his behaviour to escalate maybe in his brain."
"About 28 minutes into the game, Semenyo goes to take a throw in. Heās not a player that goads the fans and seems like a decent lad ā the sort of player that people want playing for their club. For reasons Iāll never know, the fella near me in bay seven (Iām bay nine) decides to go over to him in his wheelchair and shout something at Semenyo."
"Semenyo then asks him to repeat it and he repeated it and threw his chewing gum at him. Then, two minutes later, the play is stopped. The fella next to me says he hopes he hasnāt said anything racist to Semenyo, but then Iām getting texts from people saying itās about the fan in the wheelchair allegedly abusing Semenyo."
"We missed the first goal because all of us were uncomfortable being around this guy, whoās now sat in silence, probably realising what heās done and heās soon to be in the s**t."
"We didnāt want him near us and people (including myself) were calling him a racist pr**k. It was just uncomfortable to be around and we wanted him gone. The stewards didnāt have a clue what was going on either. He was eventually removed from the ground at 21:01 by police, firstly saying heād refuse to move and wouldnāt leave but then agreeing to leave then kicking off."
"Iād gone to the toilet by this point but saw him kicking off near the exit. I believe there is some kind of protocol where the police have to remove them and not stewards, and they have to get a sort of investigation going first. Thatās why it took them 30 minutes to get him out of the ground."
"So the club now have to help the police with an investigation and rightly so. If heās found to have racially abused Semenyo, he needs to be banned for life. No excuses."
āAnother fan chimed in saying āSemenyo didnāt look upsetā, so sorta sticking up for the abuser or playing devilās advocate, but he just looked shocked to me which is probably why he asked him to repeat himself.
"So props to Semenyo for having the brilliant game he had. All three goalscorers were black, which was quite fitting really. The irony is, the fella had a āno room for racismā badge on his shirt."
"I think at the time, it was annoying that we had to be around the pr**k but I think the club acted as fast as they could. I believe stewards can eject fans if they personally hear abuse but otherwise a report needs to be made for it to happen."
"Iāve cropped his face out for obvious reasons, but itās incredibly ironic to have that badge on you and then do something like that. Thereās obviously going to be a legal process ongoing now. The head steward asked us all a few questions and everyone was helpful."
"Proud of the way the club acted in response to one pr**k. Anfield is a very welcoming place to people from all walks of life. Letās keep it that way."
The suspect was identified and removed from the stadium and Merseyside Police have now confirmed they have made an arrest.
A statement read: "A 47-year-old man from Liverpool has today (Saturday 16 August) been arrested on suspicion of a racially aggravated public order offence. He has been taken into custody to be interviewed."
Chief Inspector, Kev Chatterton, the match commander for the game, added: "Merseyside Police will not tolerate hate crime of any form. 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."
FIFA president, Gianni Infantino, condemned racist abuse directed at Bournemouth's Antoine Semenyo during a Premier League match against Liverpool, saying the world football governing body would reach out to the Ghana international to offer their support.
"Football has no place for racism or any form of discrimination ā Antoine's courage and performance on the pitch, despite such adversity, is a powerful example of strength and dignity for players worldwide," Infantino said in a statement.
āThe Players' Voice Panel, established as part of the five pillars against racism adopted by FIFA Congress in 2024, will be in touch with Antoine and is monitoring these situations closely. We are committed to ensuring that players are respected and protected and that competition organisers and law enforcement authorities take appropriate action."
Semenyo revealed that he had been racially abused online after the game. Premier League CEO, Richard Masters, also issued a warning on Saturday that anyone guilty of racist abuse would be banned from stadiums and could face prosecution.
As always, I'm against racism. I honestly don't see the benefit of it. To be honest, when I found out that the perpetrator was someone in a wheelchair, I thought it was odd. Being disabled myself, I believed all disabled people were sympathetic. I guess I was wrong.
I am amazed that the football community has come together on the matter. In the past, I've just seen the player and the club/country react with no one else doing anything about it.
I fully back the punishments that the man will suffer. Based on the man's actions, the saying that you should think before acting bares true. If I may take a concept from, The Simpsons, Conrad would've come in handy (an app that can predict a punishment if something is done) (Season 27, episode 10: "The Girl Code").
Don't do the crime if you can't do the crime.