Antoine Semenyo believes prison sentences should be considered as a punishment for racial abuse in football, following his “painful” experiences at the hands of a supporter last week.
The first game of the new Premier League season was marred by an incident that saw the Bournemouth forward allegedly targeted by a pitch-side spectator at Anfield during his side’s 4-2 defeat by Liverpool.
The London-born Ghana international, who scored twice in the match, reported the incident to referee Anthony Taylor and a 47-year-old man was subsequently arrested.
The man was released on bail on suspicion of an aggravated public order offence and has been banned from any regulated football match in the UK as part of his bail conditions.
In his first interview on the matter, Semenyo told ITV News even more should be done – by both football and legal authorities.
When asked if he thought the publicity around the incident would deter other supporters from making racist remarks, he said: “I hope it does, but if it doesn’t then it just shows that what the Premier League is doing is not enough and that more needs to be done. I hope it does.”
When asked what the maximum punishment should be, Semenyo said: “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.”
The 25-year-old, who thanked the team-mates, opponents and fans who showed him support on the day, also revealed he was subjected to further abuse on social media in the aftermath of the incident.
“I feel like in this day and age it just doesn’t make sense and we want to know why it keeps happening. It was pretty painful to hear,” he said.
“I got back on the coach and I was just going through my messages. I wanted to reply back to family and friends, to be honest, and then it obviously popped across the screen on Instagram. I was getting racially abused as well, and it’s just like straight after the game that’s happened.
“Someone has felt the need to come online and do that, so that made me angry, to be honest. Why would you want to do that?”
After the match at Liverpool, Meta told Sky Sports News they are investigating the racist abuse sent to Semenyo on Instagram.
It’s understood the social media company are removing comments and disabling the offending accounts.
Premier League chief on criminal charges for racism
Premier League chief executive Richard Masters warned any form of discriminatory language used inside a football ground will lead to an immediate ejection from the facility, a ban being issued and the individual may face criminal charges.
“No Premier League footballer should ever have to, in their workplace or online, suffer that sort of abuse. It is important that we keep saying that,” Masters told BBC Sport on August 16.
“It is a problem for society. It leaks into football and it shouldn’t happen in a football stadium. It shouldn’t happen online.
“It makes people like me and other football people in charge of the game think twice about what else we can do to ensure that these things don’t happen in the future.
“If you are found to be using discriminatory language inside a football ground you will be ejected, second you will be banned and third you may face criminal charges.”
When asked if publicity around Semenyo’s incident will deter people within the stadium from abusing players in the future, Masters added: “I’d like to think so.
“I hope it does, but if it doesn’t, then it just shows that what we’re doing, what the Premier League are doing, it’s not enough and there’s more to be done. So I hope it does.”
