Liverpool fan, 47, arrested on suspicion of racially abusing Antoine Semenyo

Police have confirmed a 47-year-old man has been arrested on suspicion of a racially aggravated public order offence following Liverpool's Premier League opener against Bournemouth on Friday night. It's claimed Antoine Semenyo was racially abused in the first half of the match, with the Bournemouth forward alerting match officials.

The fan was identified by Anfield's security team and subsequently removed from the stadium. It has since been confirmed that the individual has been arrested by local police.

A spokesperson for Merseyside police said: "We have arrested a man following reports racist abuse was directed towards Bournemouth player Antoine Semenyo during his team's Premier League fixture versus Liverpool at Anfield on Friday 15 August.

"The suspect's identity was confirmed and he was removed from the ground following the report. 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."

Liverpool themselves commented on the incident, saying: "Liverpool Football Club is aware of an allegation of racist abuse made during our Premier League game against 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 is incident is the subject of an ongoing police investigation, which we will support fully."

Chief Inspector Kev Chatterton, who was 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.

"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. As with all matches, we work very closely with both Liverpool and Everton FC to ensure the safety of the public and the players."

Liverpool won the fixture 4-2, but Semenyo netted twice to level the score at 2-2 midway through the second half. Federico Chiesa and Mohamed Salah scored late for the home side to secure an opening-night win.