There was a lot at stake in Liverpool’s opener against Bournemouth. In addition to the Premier League debuts of former Bundesliga pros Jeremie Frimpong, Florian Wirtz, and Hugo Ekitiké, an exciting game, and emotional substitutions, there were also discriminatory gestures toward visiting striker Antoine Semenyo, who responded on the pitch.
Emotions were running high even before kick-off. In the presence of the family of Liverpool player Diogo Jota, who died in a fatal accident on July 3, and his younger brother André Silva, a rousing rendition of “You’ll Never Walk Alone” was played, followed by a minute’s silence. Fans in two stands presented a choreographed display featuring the words “DJ20” and “AS30.”
Even after kickoff, the Reds fans continued to give everyone goosebumps. In the 20th minute, the entire stadium rose to its feet and sang “Oh, he wears the number 20” – just as they had done after Diogo Jota’s goals. Less pleasant was the incident that prompted the referee to interrupt the game after just under half an hour: According to the Premier League, there were “reports of discriminatory abuse from the crowd towards Bournemouth’s Semenyo.” After a discussion with both coaches, the match continued, and the Liverpool fan was taken away by the police during the break.
A perfect debut for Ekitiké – Semenyo reports insults
Shortly afterwards, Ekitiké’s moment arrived, and he scored his first goal for the club to give his side the lead at half-time (37′). Everything seemed to be going according to plan when Cody Gakpo made it 2-0 shortly after the restart following a pass from Ekitiké (49′). Florian Wirtz narrowly missed making it 3-0, but a minute later the visitors were back in the game when Antoine Semenyo pulled one back (64′).
The Ghanaian international seemed unfazed by the racist remarks he himself had reported to the referee. A shocked Bournemouth captain Adam Smith said afterwards: “That was completely unacceptable. I’m shocked that that happened in this day and age. I don’t know how Ant was able to continue playing and score his goals.” In any case, the striker scored his second goal (76th minute), and the underdogs had a chance to earn a point.
Substitute Federico Chiesa made sure that didn’t happen. Coming on for Wirtz in the 82nd minute, the Italian fired a volley into the net (88th minute). “The feeling the fans gave me when they sang Diogo’s song throughout the game was very moving,” the striker said, giving an insight into his emotions. He later told the BBC: “My goal was a great moment for me – but my thoughts are with Diogo. Today was his day.”
Mohamed Salah (90+4) finally made it 4-2 in a highly emotional game in which the champions had more trouble than expected to secure the first three points and made a clear statement afterwards: “We condemn racism and discrimination in any form, it has no place in society or in football.”
The club said it would “fully support” the police investigation. The league said the incident was “subject to a thorough investigation.” Merseyside Police announced that it would “proactively work with the club to apply for a stadium ban for the alleged perpetrator.”
