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City Of Liverpool In Spotlight After Antoine Semenyo Gets Racially Abused At Everton

Anfield, Antoine Semenyo, Everton, Liverpool, Manchester City, Racism In Football

Antoine Semenyo Has Now Reported Racism Incidents At Both Anfield And Everton This Season

For much of the 2025/26 Premier League season, Antoine Semenyo has been described as a “force to be reckoned with.”

Starting the season at AFC Bournemouth, Antoine Semenyo’s performances made him one of the best forwards in the Premier League.

By January, a move felt inevitable. Chelsea, Liverpool, Tottenham, Manchester City and Manchester United had all been linked with the Ghanaian Superstar.

The 26-year-old eventually joined Manchester City in the January window, who were sitting second and chasing Arsenal. Guardiola’s side saw him as an immediate boost to their title push, not just a long-term signing.

(Hafez, 2026)

Semenyo became an important part of City’s attempts to keep Arsenal within reach. His arrival added freshness to an attack that could no longer afford quiet afternoons. His presence gave City another player capable of producing decisive moments in a title race where every point mattered.

By the time City travelled to Everton, the pressure was clear. City needed a result at the Hill Dickinson Stadium to maintain momentum in the title race.

The match ended in a goal-fest. It was an end-to-end match, with Jeremy Doku handing City the lead right before half-time. In the second half, Everton came out fighting, grabbing two goals in quick succession through Thierno Barry and O’Brien, before Barry scored their third. When fans felt hope was gone, Erling Haaland scored to make it 3-2, with Jeremy Doku scoring the equaliser for City at 90+7 minutes.

A match as entertaining as this gets talked about for weeks, with highlights being posted everywhere, but this was overshadowed by something that is a rising concern in football.

Everton confirmed that a 71-year-old man had been arrested by Merseyside Police after Semenyo was allegedly racially abused during the game. Manchester City also condemned the incident, thanked Everton and the police for their response, and said it would continue to support the player. City also revealed that Marc Guehi had also been racially abused online after the same match, showing how abuse can follow players beyond the stadium.

Semenyo had also faced racial abuse on the very first game of the season, during his trip to Anfield earlier in the season, when playing for Bournemouth. The game was temporarily stopped after Semenyo reported the abuse, and a man was later charged in connection with the incident.

After the match, Semenyo thanked everyone who rose to his support, including Liverpool’s skipper Virgil Van Dijk.

The man was later revealed to be Mark Mogan of Templehill Close, Dovecot. He appeared at Liverpool Magistrates’ Court on Monday, where he pleaded not guilty to an offence of racially aggravated disorderly behaviour against the Bournemouth forward. The case has now been adjourned to September, with the defendant being released on bail.

Merseyside is facing uncomfortable questions over racism; with various studies over the course of almost three decades showing high levels of racial discrimination in the Merseyside area (“Racial Discrimination in Liverpool City Council,” 1989) (University of Manchester, 2012) (Racism – Study Looks at Impact of Over a Century of Discrimination, 2025).

While football has become one of the clearest places where those tensions surface; racial abuse has become a major problem in football, beyond certain players, even beyond Merseyside. It is no longer limited to what happens inside stadiums. Players are targeted during matches, after matches and online. In some cases, their families are dragged into it too.

The response has to be stronger than another club statement. Condemnation matters, but it cannot be the only step. Offenders need to face serious consequences, stadium bans must be enforced properly, and social media companies have to do more to identify and eradicate racist abuse.

Players like Semenyo, who have had seasons to be remembered for their performances, his move to Manchester City and his role in the title race. Instead, racism has become part of the story again.

Football keeps saying racism has no place in the game. The next step is making sure those words actually mean something.

REFERENCES:

(1) BBC Sport on X: “Antoine Semenyo has thanked the ‘football family’ for standing by him ❤️  Liverpool v Bournemouth was paused after the forward reported being racially abused by someone in the Anfield crowd. https://t.co/3GBTcmmk5L” / X. (n.d.). X (Formerly Twitter). https://x.com/BBCSport/status/1956689028666843313

(1) Everton on X: “Club Statement. https://t.co/0kwhbDfIka” / X. (n.d.). X (Formerly Twitter). https://x.com/Everton/status/1924853874428637286

(1) Everton on X: “Club statement. https://t.co/asJobSo9eC” / X. (n.d.). X (Formerly Twitter). https://x.com/Everton/status/2051678303811956809

(1) Liverpool FC on X: “Liverpool Football Club and Everton are aware of – and condemn in the strongest possible terms – racist abuse received by Abdoulaye Doucoure following Wednesday night’s Merseyside derby.” / X. (n.d.). X (Formerly Twitter). https://x.com/LFC/status/1890030751758049474

(1) Manchester City on X: “Club statement: Antoine Semenyo and Marc Guéhi  🔗 https://t.co/9cgu90hQNW https://t.co/KW2zUHT93d” / X. (n.d.). X (Formerly Twitter). https://x.com/ManCity/status/2051678863021797494

Antoine Semenyo – Stats 25/26. (n.d.). Transfermarkt. https://www.transfermarkt.co.in/antoine-semenyo/leistungsdaten/spieler/583255

Antoine Semenyo Manchester City Forward, Profile & Stats | Premier League. (n.d.). https://www.premierleague.com/en/players/437730/antoine-semenyo/career

BBC News. (2025, December 22). Liverpool man denies racially abusing Antoine Semenyo. https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c3e0kngvjl0o

Hafez, S. (2026, January 10). Man City 10-1 Exeter: “Humble” Antoine Semenyo steals show on debut. BBC Sport. https://www.bbc.com/sport/football/articles/c5y24vw1vd2o

McAdam, L. T. a. M. (2025, November 17). Antoine Semenyo: Liverpool, Man City and Spurs monitoring Bournemouth forward ahead of January transfer window. Sky Sports. https://www.skysports.com/football/news/11095/13470257/antoine-semenyo-liverpool-man-city-and-spurs-monitoring-bournemouth-forward-ahead-of-january-transfer-window?utm_source=chatgpt.com

Racial Discrimination in Liverpool City Council. (1989). www.jstor.org. https://www.jstor.org/stable/community.28327956

Racism – study looks at impact of over a century of discrimination. (2025, December 11). https://www.ljmu.ac.uk/about-us/news/articles/2025/12/11/racism-in-liverpool

Reuters. (2025, February 13). Liverpool, Everton condemn racist abuse towards Abdoulaye Doucouré – ESPN. ESPN. https://www.espn.in/football/story/_/id/43825468/liverpool-everton-condemn-racist-abuse-towards-abdoulaye-doucoure

Sky Sports. (2026, April 22). Antoine Semenyo: Trial over alleged racial abuse from a supporter adjourned as defendant assessed over fitness to stand trial. Sky Sports. https://www.skysports.com/football/news/11095/13534942/antoine-semenyo-trial-over-alleged-racial-abuse-from-a-supporter-adjourned-as-defendant-assessed-over-fitness-to-stand-trial

Sport, B. (2025, February 13). Abdoulaye Doucoure: Police investigate as Everton and Liverpool condemn online racist abuse. BBC Sport. https://www.bbc.com/sport/football/articles/clyeld2kjzvo

University of Manchester. (2012, June 7). Race discrimination in Liverpool widespread, finds study. Race Discrimination in Liverpool Widespread, Finds Study. https://www.manchester.ac.uk/about/news/race-discrimination-in-liverpool-widespread-finds-study/

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