Bournemouth forward Antoine Semenyo has called for tougher sanctions, including possible prison sentences, for individuals found guilty of racist abuse in football.
The Ghana international made the appeal after being subjected to what he described as a “painful” incident during Bournemouth’s Premier League opener against Liverpool at Anfield.
Despite scoring twice in his side’s 4-2 defeat, the 24-year-old reported to referee Anthony Taylor that he had been racially abused by a spectator.
Merseyside Police later confirmed the arrest of a 47-year-old man, who has since been released on bail on suspicion of an aggravated public order offence.
As part of his bail conditions, the suspect has been barred from attending any regulated football match in the UK.
In his first public reaction, Semenyo stressed that existing punishments are insufficient. Speaking to ITV News, he said: “Whatever the Premier League are doing, it’s not enough and there’s more that needs to be done.”
He urged football authorities and the legal system to consider stricter deterrents to stamp out racism from the game.
“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,” he added.
