Semenyo: Bournemouth striker calls for jail and life bans as racist abuse punishments

Ghana international Antoine Semenyo has called for harsh punishments to tackle racism in football, including possible prison sentences for those convicted of abuse.

Semenyo was racially abused by a Liverpool fan during AFC Bournemouth's 4-2 defeat to the reigning Premier League champions at Anfield on the opening day of the 2025–26 season's campaign.

The game was briefly halted while referee Anthony Taylor explained the allegations to both teams' managers and captains.

Speaking to ITV News in an exclusive interview, the 25-year-old said "there has to be something else" that authorities can do.

Merseyside police arrested a 47-year-old man from Liverpool on suspicion of a racially aggravated public order offence. He appeared in court and is now barred from every football stadium in the UK as part of his bail conditions.

When asked what a maximum punishment should be for anyone convicted of racial abuse, 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."

Semenyo scored twice during the second half against Liverpool, after reporting his concerns to the referee.

He said footballers cannot understand why incidents of racism in stadiums have been so widespread, adding that they "want to know why it keeps happening".

The Black Stars striker also disclosed that he was racially abused online by fans immediately after the match at Anfield.

"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?" he said.

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. So I hope it does."

Semenyo has scored two goals and provided an assist in two Premier League matches for AFC Bournemouth in this season's campaign so far.

He is expected to be included in Ghana's squad for the 2026 FIFA World Cup Qualifiers against Chad and Mali in September.