Bournemouth forward Antoine Semenyo has called for tougher punishments, including possible prison terms, for racist abuse in football.
The Ghana international was targeted during his side’s Premier League opener against Liverpool, an incident he described as “painful.” Despite scoring twice in Bournemouth’s 4-2 defeat at Anfield, the forward reported the abuse to referee Anthony Taylor after allegedly being insulted by a pitch-side spectator.
Merseyside Police later arrested a 47-year-old man, who has been released on bail on suspicion of an aggravated public order offence. As part of his bail conditions, he is banned from attending regulated football matches in the UK.
But Semenyo insists current sanctions are insufficient.
“Whatever the Premier League are doing, it’s not enough and there’s more that needs to be done,” he told ITV News.
“It could be jail time, it could be banned from stadiums for a lifetime, it could be anything along those lines, but I feel like there has to be something else.
