An Everton fan has been arrested on suspicion of directing racist abuse at Manchester City winger Antoine Semenyo on Monday evening. Everton drew 3-3 with City in a thrilling Premier League encounter at Hill Dickinson Stadium. Semenyo, who was also subjected to alleged racist abuse while representing Bournemouth against Liverpool at Anfield in August, featured for 74 minutes of the match. Everton confirmed the development in an official statement on Tuesday afternoon.
It read: “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. The club will continue to work closely with the authorities to support their investigation and will take the strongest possible action in line with its zero-tolerance approach.”
City confirmed that the alleged abuse was directed at Semenyo, while also highlighting online abuse aimed at defender Marc Guehi. They stated in their own release: “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.”
City rescued a point on Merseyside courtesy of Jeremy Doku’s second goal deep into stoppage time. The Belgian winger broke the deadlock for the title-chasing visitors, but three goals in 15 second-half minutes saw Everton surge into a 3-1 advantage.
Thierno Barry drew level at 1-1 following a mistake by Marc Guehi, before a header from Jake O’Brien handed the hosts the lead from a corner. Barry then completed his brace with a tap-in to hand Everton a two-goal buffer.
That proved short-lived, with Erling Haaland netting directly from the restart with a delicate chipped finish before Doku curled in a dramatic late leveller for City.