The Premier League’s opening night at Anfield, usually a showcase of footballing spectacle and hope, was marred by an incident that has reignited the debate around racism in the sport. On August 15, 2025, Liverpool’s 4-2 victory over Bournemouth was overshadowed when play was abruptly halted in the first half after Bournemouth winger Antoine Semenyo reported a racist comment from the crowd.
The incident unfolded in the 28th minute, just as Semenyo, a Ghana international and Bournemouth’s star winger, was preparing for one of his trademark long throw-ins. As he approached the touchline, Semenyo appeared to acknowledge an abusive remark from the stands. Wasting no time, he notified match referee Anthony Taylor, who immediately stopped play, triggering the Premier League’s on-field anti-discrimination protocol. Both coaches—Liverpool’s Arne Slot and Bournemouth’s Andoni Iraola—were summoned to the touchline for a briefing, along with Liverpool captain Virgil van Dijk and Bournemouth’s Adam Smith. The game was paused for four minutes, a moment that saw confusion, disappointment, and a wave of solidarity ripple through Anfield.
“I am told via the Premier League Match Centre that Antoine Semenyo was the subject of a racist comment from the crowd,” reported Sky Sports’ Peter Drury during live commentary. “It was Semenyo himself who brought attention to it.”
As the players regrouped and the stadium processed what had happened, an anti-discrimination message was read out to the crowd at halftime, reinforcing the league’s zero-tolerance stance. The Premier League quickly issued a statement: “Tonight’s match between Liverpool Football Club and AFC Bournemouth was temporarily paused during the first half after a report of discriminatory abuse from the crowd, directed at Bournemouth’s Antoine Semenyo. This is in line with the Premier League’s on-field anti-discrimination protocol. The incident will now be fully investigated. We offer our full support to the player and both clubs. Racism has no place in our game, or anywhere in society.”
Merseyside Police acted swiftly, ejecting a 47-year-old man from Anfield following the reports. An investigation was immediately launched. “Merseyside Police will not tolerate hate crime of any form,” stated 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. There is no place for racism and it is vital that anyone who witnesses such an offence reports it to stewards, or the police immediately, so we can take the necessary action like we did this evening.”
Liverpool Football Club echoed this sentiment, pledging full support for the investigation and condemning discrimination in all forms. The Football Association also weighed in, declaring: “We are very concerned about the allegation of discrimination from an area of the crowd, which was reported to the match officials during the Premier League fixture between Liverpool and Bournemouth. 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.”
On the pitch, the impact on Semenyo was visible, but his response was nothing short of remarkable. Despite the emotional toll, he went on to score twice, briefly leveling the score for Bournemouth before Liverpool pulled away to secure a 4-2 win with a late surge. Bournemouth captain Adam Smith, speaking to Sky Sports, expressed both anger and admiration: “It’s totally unacceptable. I’m in shock that it happened. In this day and age, it shouldn’t be happening. I don’t know how Ant has played on and come up with those goals. I feel sorry for Ant. He’s a little bit down. Something needs to be done. Taking a knee is not having an effect. We’ll support him in there and hopefully he’ll be okay.”
Smith continued, “I wanted him (Semenyo) to react because that’s what I would have done. I would have gone straight over there. It shows what type of man he is to not react, even in the moment when it happened to not react, to carry on, then he reported it to the ref. To come up with those goals shows what type of guy he is and what type of character he has. Fair play to Ant.”
Bournemouth head coach Andoni Iraola described the incident as a “big shame,” lamenting that such events still overshadow the sport. “It’s a shame that the first game of the Premier League, we have to start talking about things we have conceded in the past. Clearly, it is not in the past because we have to continue to reinforce the messages. Antoine was calm, he continued playing. We asked him, he was fine to continue, he looked composed. Unfortunately, the head always goes to these things and he’s for sure asking, ‘Why are these things still happening today?’ It’s a big shame.”
Liverpool coach Arne Slot shared his disappointment: “It is clear that we do not want this in football. We definitely don’t want this at Anfield ... This should never happen in football, let alone at Anfield.” He added, “It’s under investigation with the police now. We’ve made a very clear statement. This day should be about Diogo (Jota) and the tribute, but we have to address this. It’s unacceptable. I spoke to him (Semenyo) after the game to say we will do everything to find this person and wherever we can we will try to help. Credit to him, he’s very strong mentally, to get such a strong second-half performance after this shows the kind of player he is. Unacceptable in football in general, let alone at Anfield.”
Liverpool captain Virgil van Dijk also reached out to Semenyo: “I spoke to him during and after the game. I’m glad that the authorities are dealing with it. I told him anything he needs from us, we are here for him. I stand by him. It will be dealt with by the authorities and the club. I can speak for all Liverpool fans that these things can’t happen and they will all agree that Antoine needs our support.”
The incident at Anfield comes just days after Tottenham Hotspur’s Mathys Tel was subjected to racist abuse on social media following a missed penalty in the UEFA Super Cup. Semenyo himself received racist messages on Instagram the same night as the Anfield incident; Meta, the platform’s parent company, has confirmed it is investigating and has begun removing offending comments and disabling accounts.
Sky Sports pundits Gary Neville and Jamie Carragher weighed in, with Neville calling the event “despicable” and warning that unless serious consequences are enforced, incidents like these will persist. “It overshadows what should be an amazing night. The first day of the Premier League season, a beautiful day. And that boy has [reported being] racially abused. It’s despicable. I can’t imagine what is going through that fan’s mind. However, it has happened. It will keep on happening. It’s a sorry state.” Carragher added, “With the amount of campaigns we have, it’s shocking to see an incident like that. A shocking incident and rightly reported to the referee. There’s a lot of good work that gets done up and down the country in terms of the football side of it. I understand where Adam Smith is coming from about what else we can do about it and that these things aren’t working. It’s also difficult when you’ve just got one idiot in the crowd, how do you police that?”
As the investigation continues, both clubs and the wider football community have rallied around Semenyo, determined to ensure that such incidents are not brushed aside. The match will be remembered not just for Liverpool’s opening win, but for the resilience of a player who, in the face of hate, responded with courage and class. The hope remains that football, and society at large, will find lasting solutions to a problem that has lingered far too long.
