Liverpool Match Halted after Bournemouth's Semenyo Reports Racist Abuse from Crowd

Soccer Football - Premier League - Liverpool v AFC Bournemouth - Anfield, Liverpool, Britain - August 15, 2025 Liverpool manager Arne Slot shakes hands with AFC Bournemouth's Antoine Semenyo after the match REUTERS/Peter Powell
Soccer Football - Premier League - Liverpool v AFC Bournemouth - Anfield, Liverpool, Britain - August 15, 2025 Liverpool manager Arne Slot shakes hands with AFC Bournemouth's Antoine Semenyo after the match REUTERS/Peter Powell
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Liverpool Match Halted after Bournemouth's Semenyo Reports Racist Abuse from Crowd

Soccer Football - Premier League - Liverpool v AFC Bournemouth - Anfield, Liverpool, Britain - August 15, 2025 Liverpool manager Arne Slot shakes hands with AFC Bournemouth's Antoine Semenyo after the match REUTERS/Peter Powell
Soccer Football - Premier League - Liverpool v AFC Bournemouth - Anfield, Liverpool, Britain - August 15, 2025 Liverpool manager Arne Slot shakes hands with AFC Bournemouth's Antoine Semenyo after the match REUTERS/Peter Powell

Liverpool's Premier League season-opening match against Bournemouth was briefly halted on Friday after visiting forward Antoine Semenyo reported getting racist abuse from the crowd.

Referee Anthony Taylor stopped play at a Liverpool corner in the 29th minute to address the incident, summoning both managers to the touchline for a briefing.

Liverpool captain Virgil van Dijk and Bournemouth counterpart Adam Smith were then called over to the benches for further instructions before play resumed four minutes later, Reuters reported.

Following halftime, an anti-discrimination message was read out to the crowd at Anfield.

Ghana international Semenyo, 25, went on to score twice after play resumed, helping his side to briefly level the score before reigning Premier League champions Liverpool secured a 4-2 victory with a late surge.

"We're very concerned about the allegation of discrimination from an area of the crowd," England's Football Association said in a statement.

"Incidents of this nature have no place in our game, and we will work closely with the match officials, the clubs, and the relevant authorities to establish the facts and ensure that the appropriate action is taken."

Merseyside Police said a 47-year-old man had been ejected from Anfield after reports of the racist abuse, adding that an investigation was under way.

Liverpool said they would fully support the police investigation.

"Merseyside Police will not tolerate hate crime of any form," Chief Inspector Kev Chatterton, the match commander for the game, said in a statement.

"We take incidents like this very seriously, and in cases like this we will be proactively seeking football banning orders, with the club, against those responsible.

"There is no place for racism and it is vital that anyone who witnesses such an offence reports it to stewards, or the police immediately, so we can take the necessary action like we did this evening."

Liverpool coach Arne Slot was upset about the incident.

"It is clear that we do not want this in football," the Dutchman said. "We definitely don't want this at Anfield ... This should never happen in football, let alone at Anfield."

Bournemouth coach Andoni Iraola said: "Straight away, Antoine and the referee told us. The person has been identified.

"It's a big shame that these things keep happening. It's the first game of the season, a lovely game of football, and I have to speak about these things happening."

The incident at Anfield follows reports of Tottenham Hotspur's French forward Mathys Tel being subjected to racist abuse on social media after missing a penalty in his side's UEFA Super Cup defeat by Paris St Germain on Wednesday.



Liverpool Close on Champions League but Salah Limps off

Football - Premier League - Liverpool v Crystal Palace - Anfield, Liverpool, Britain - April 25, 2026 Liverpool's Mohamed Salah applauds fans as he walks off the pitch after being substituted. (Reuters)
Football - Premier League - Liverpool v Crystal Palace - Anfield, Liverpool, Britain - April 25, 2026 Liverpool's Mohamed Salah applauds fans as he walks off the pitch after being substituted. (Reuters)
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Liverpool Close on Champions League but Salah Limps off

Football - Premier League - Liverpool v Crystal Palace - Anfield, Liverpool, Britain - April 25, 2026 Liverpool's Mohamed Salah applauds fans as he walks off the pitch after being substituted. (Reuters)
Football - Premier League - Liverpool v Crystal Palace - Anfield, Liverpool, Britain - April 25, 2026 Liverpool's Mohamed Salah applauds fans as he walks off the pitch after being substituted. (Reuters)

Liverpool moved ever closer to securing Champions League football next season with a 3-1 win over Crystal Palace on Saturday but will be hoping Mohamed Salah has not played his final game for the club.

Salah limped off in the second half at Anfield holding his hamstring with less than a month of his glittering career with the Reds remaining.

"It's too early to say but we all know Mo and how hard it is for him to leave the pitch," said Liverpool boss Arne Slot. "We have to wait and see how bad it is."

Two goals in five minutes just before half-time tightened the grip of Slot's men on a top-five finish.

British transfer record signing Alexander Isak scored his first goal since returning from a leg break as he smartly controlled Alexis Mac Allister's wayward effort on goal and swiveled on the ball to volley it past Dean Henderson.

Andy Robertson then marked one of his final appearances at Anfield with a fine finish at the end of a lethal Liverpool counter-attack after third-choice goalkeeper Freddie Woodman had denied Palace an equalizer.

Salah went to ground just before the hour mark holding the back of his left leg and was given a standing ovation as he made way for Jeremie Frimpong.

Daniel Munoz reduced the Eagles' arrears in controversial fashion as Liverpool wanted the game stopped with Woodman down injured.

"It was a lot more nervy because of the goal. I don't think we deserved to concede it in that fashion," added Slot.

"Is there a game we play where there isn't a talking point about the referee?"

But Florian Wirtz secured the three points deep into stoppage time with just his fifth Premier League goal since a £100 million ($135 million) move from Bayer Leverkusen.

Victory moves Liverpool up to fourth and opens up an eight-point lead on sixth-placed Brighton with just four games of the season remaining.


Report: Brazil’s Militao Risks Missing World Cup with Hamstring Injury

Real Madrid defender Eder Militao (C) leaves the pitch during the Spanish LaLiga soccer match between Real Madrid and Deportivo Alaves at the Santiago Bernabeu Stadium in Madrid, Spain, 21 April 2026. (EPA)
Real Madrid defender Eder Militao (C) leaves the pitch during the Spanish LaLiga soccer match between Real Madrid and Deportivo Alaves at the Santiago Bernabeu Stadium in Madrid, Spain, 21 April 2026. (EPA)
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Report: Brazil’s Militao Risks Missing World Cup with Hamstring Injury

Real Madrid defender Eder Militao (C) leaves the pitch during the Spanish LaLiga soccer match between Real Madrid and Deportivo Alaves at the Santiago Bernabeu Stadium in Madrid, Spain, 21 April 2026. (EPA)
Real Madrid defender Eder Militao (C) leaves the pitch during the Spanish LaLiga soccer match between Real Madrid and Deportivo Alaves at the Santiago Bernabeu Stadium in Madrid, Spain, 21 April 2026. (EPA)

Real Madrid's Brazil defender Eder Militao is at serious risk of missing the World Cup after suffering a hamstring injury, sources close to the club and the national team told Reuters.

Real confirmed in midweek that Militao felt a twinge in a challenge shortly before halftime ‌in Tuesday's ‌win against Alaves and ‌signaled ⁠straight away to be ⁠replaced.

While Real coach Alvaro Arbeloa initially struck an optimistic tone after the game, an MRI scan later revealed a muscle injury to the hamstring in Militao's left ⁠leg.

Spanish radio COPE first reported ‌it was a ‌recurrence of the injury he sustained ‌in December, which could require surgery ‌and rule him out of the World Cup, which starts in less than 50 days. Reuters has confirmed that ‌report with several sources.

The 28-year-old now faces an anxious wait. ⁠Sources ⁠told Reuters a final decision will be made and announced on Monday, when Militao undergoes a new series of examinations with Real's doctors to determine the next steps.

The latest blow marks another setback for the Brazilian center back, who has endured a succession of injuries in recent seasons, including ACL tears in back-to-back years.


Real Madrid’s Mbappe Suffers Hamstring Issue at Betis

 Soccer Football - LaLiga - Real Betis v Real Madrid - Estadio de La Cartuja, Seville, Spain - April 24, 2026 Real Madrid's Kylian Mbappe reacts. (Reuters)
Soccer Football - LaLiga - Real Betis v Real Madrid - Estadio de La Cartuja, Seville, Spain - April 24, 2026 Real Madrid's Kylian Mbappe reacts. (Reuters)
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Real Madrid’s Mbappe Suffers Hamstring Issue at Betis

 Soccer Football - LaLiga - Real Betis v Real Madrid - Estadio de La Cartuja, Seville, Spain - April 24, 2026 Real Madrid's Kylian Mbappe reacts. (Reuters)
Soccer Football - LaLiga - Real Betis v Real Madrid - Estadio de La Cartuja, Seville, Spain - April 24, 2026 Real Madrid's Kylian Mbappe reacts. (Reuters)

Real Madrid striker Kylian Mbappe suffered a "muscle overload" in his left hamstring during the team's 1-1 draw at Real Betis in La Liga, a club source told AFP on Friday.

Mbappe asked to be substituted in the final 10 minutes of the game, which left his side eight points behind league leaders Barcelona.

The France captain's problem does not appear to be serious, pending further tests, easing any potential concerns ahead of the World Cup this summer.

"I have no idea (how Mbappe is), he had some discomfort and we will see how it develops in the coming days," said coach Alvaro Arbeloa when asked by reporters about the forward, Madrid's top goalscorer, after the game.

On Wednesday Barcelona's teenage winger Lamine Yamal suffered a hamstring injury which ruled him out until the end of the season, although he is expected to be fit to play at the World Cup for Spain.