Merseyside Police have arrested a 71-year-old man following reports of racist abuse directed at Manchester City winger Antoine Semenyo during Monday’s 3-3 draw at Hill Dickinson Stadium. The individual was detained on suspicion of a racially aggravated public order offence after being identified by both fans and stewards. He has since been released on bail with conditions that include a radius ban from sports stadiums before, during, and after matches.
Manchester City released a statement condemning the incident and noted that defender Marc Guehi was also targeted with racist social media posts following a match error. The club stated: “Manchester City strongly condemns the racist abuse directed towards Antoine Semenyo at yesterday’s match. We welcome the swift action taken by Everton and the police to identify the individual responsible. We are also incredibly disappointed to hear that Marc Guehi was subject to a series of vile racist social media posts last night. We will continue to offer our full support to both Antoine and Marc and never accept discrimination of any kind in our game.”
Everton Football Club also issued a statement confirming the arrest and reiterating their zero-tolerance policy toward discrimination. The club said: “Everton Football Club can confirm that a supporter was arrested during Monday evening’s 3-3 Premier League draw with Manchester City at Hill Dickinson Stadium following reports of racist abuse directed towards an opposition player. Merseyside Police arrested a 71-year-old man on suspicion of a racially aggravated public order offence after supporters and stewards reported the incident. He has since been bailed with conditions, including restrictions preventing him from going within one mile of any designated sports stadium for a period of up to four hours before kick-off, during matches and up to four hours after the final whistle. Racism and discrimination in all forms are completely unacceptable. They have no place in our stadia, our sport or in society, and behaviour of this nature will not be tolerated. A swift response from fellow supporters, stewards and Merseyside Police led to the individual being identified and appropriate action taken.”