Bournemouth's Semenyo calls for jail-time as potential punishment for racism

New Delhi, Aug 23 (IANS) AFC Bournemouth forward Antoine Semenyo has called for harsher actions against anyone who is charged with racial abuse, citing that what is currently being done is not enough.

The incident occurred in the first half at Anfield during the opening Premier League game when a man in the crowd directed abuse at Semenyo, prompting referee Anthony Taylor to halt the match. Taylor then consulted both team captains and managers before allowing play to continue.

"I hope it does, but if it doesn't then it just shows that what the Premier League is doing is not enough and that more needs to be done. I hope it does,” Semenyo said to ITV.

When asked what the maximum punishment should be, Semenyo said, "It could be jail time, it could be banned from stadiums for a lifetime, it could be anything along the lines of that, but I feel like there has to be something else.”

Merseyside Police confirmed that a 47-year-old man was removed from Anfield and announced his arrest on suspicion of a racially aggravated public order offence. He was later released on bail and has been banned from any regulated football match in the UK as part of his bail conditions.

The Bournemouth forward, who showed exceptional character by scoring two goals against Liverpool in the same game, revealed he was subjected to racism on social media after the game.

"I feel like in this day and age it just doesn't make sense and we want to know why it keeps happening. It was pretty painful to hear.

"I got back on the coach and I was just going through my messages. I wanted to reply back to family and friends, to be honest, and then it obviously popped across the screen on Instagram. I was getting racially abused as well, and it's just like straight after the game that's happened.

"Someone has felt the need to come online and do that, so that made me angry, to be honest. Why would you want to do that,” Semenyo added.

--IANS

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