Liverpool say they are aware of an alleged racist abuse incident against Bournemouth.
IMAGE CREDITS: IMAGO
Liverpool say they are aware of an alleged racist abuse incident against Bournemouth and will fully support the ongoing police investigation.
The Reds’ Premier League opener against the Cherries was halted in the first half after Antoine Semenyo reported racial abuse from the crowd.
The 25-year-old later scored twice in 12 minutes to draw the visitors level, before the champions sealed a 4-2 win.
Referee Anthony Taylor stopped play in the 29th minute to speak with both managers and captains Virgil van Dijk and Adam Smith, with the game resuming four minutes later at 0-0.
A club statement read: “Liverpool Football Club is aware of an allegation of racist abuse made during our Premier League game against AFC Bournemouth.
“We condemn racism and discrimination in all forms, it has no place in society or football.
“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.”
An anti-discrimination message was read to the Anfield crowd at half-time.
In a statement issued at full-time, the Football Association said: “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.”
Speaking after the game, Liverpool boss Arne Slot said: “It is obvious we do not want this in football.
“We definitely don’t want this at Anfield. Unfortunately it is part of the story because we should talk about the great tribute for Diogo Jota.
“This should never happen in football, let alone Anfield.”
He added: “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 a bit because our fans were amazing, especially with the tributes to Diogo.”
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