
Semenyo says alleged racist abuse at Liverpool 'will stay with me forever'
Police have launched an investigation after Semenyo was abused by someone in the crowd during the first half of Liverpool's 4-2 win.
Play was halted and a 47-year-old man was later ejected from the stadium.
Semenyo, 25, went on to score twice as Bournemouth came back from 2-0 down but Liverpool scored two late goals to seal the win.
"Last night at Anfield will stay with me forever -- not because of one person's words, but because of how the entire football family stood together," Semenyo said on social media.
"To my Bournemouth team-mates who supported me in that moment, to the Liverpool players and fans who showed their true character, to the Premier League officials who handled it professionally -- thank you. Football showed its best side when it mattered most.
"Scoring those two goals felt like speaking the only language that truly matters on the pitch. This is why I play -- for moments like these, for my team-mates, for everyone who believes in what this beautiful game can be.
"The overwhelming messages of support from across the football world remind me why I love this sport. We keep moving forward, together," he added.
Liverpool captain Virgil van Dijk described the incident as a "disgrace" and said it showed how much work needed to be done to educate people about racism.
"What else can we do? Because this is the very odd one (case) that has managed to say something that is obviously a disgrace," the Dutchman said.
"The only thing we can do is deal with it by dealing with him personally and try to educate the next generation. That is the only way to try and kick it out, in my opinion.
"I can't believe it. These things shouldn't happen but unfortunately it does and it is an absolute disgrace in my eyes.
"These things should never happen in the world, not only (never in) football."
Van Dijk also said he was "here for Antoine, whenever he needs it and we are here as a club to deal with it in the best way possible because it shouldn't happen".
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