A football supporter has been arrested for allegedly racially abusing Antoine Semenyo during Manchester City’s 3-3 draw at Everton on Monday night.
In a statement published on Tuesday afternoon, Everton confirmed a 71-year-old man had been arrested by Merseyside Police “following reports of racist abuse directed towards an opposition player”. The alleged incident was reported by supporters and club stewards.
In a separate statement on Tuesday, City confirmed winger Semenyo to be the player in question.
The 71-year-old fan has been bailed with conditions, including restrictions preventing him from going within one mile of any designated sports stadium from four hours before kick-off until four hours after the final whistle.
“Racism and discrimination in all forms are completely unacceptable,” Everton’s statement continued. “They have no place in our stadia, our sport or in society, and behaviour of this nature will not be tolerated.
“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 “strongly condemned the racist abuse directed towards Semenyo” and “welcomed the swift action taken by the police to identify the individual responsible”.
Earlier in the season, a Liverpool supporter was arrested after Semenyo, then playing for Bournemouth, reported an alleged incident of racist abuse during his team’s 3-2 defeat at Anfield, and the game was paused by referee Anthony Taylor. The fan was charged with using offensive and racially aggravated language and pleaded not guilty. The trial was set to begin last month though it was adjourned after a psychiatric assessment ruled that the man was not fit to take part in the court proceedings.
They also said they were “incredibly disappointed” to hear that defender Marc Guehi had been the subject of “vile racist social media posts” on Monday evening. Guehi played an errant backpass that Thierno Barry capitalised on to level the game at 1-1.
“I need to do better, but we keep going and (are) focused on the next (match),” read a post from the England international on Instagram on Tuesday. “Thank you for your support as always!”
“We will continue to offer our full support to both Antoine and Marc and never accept discrimination of any kind in our game,” City said.
Jeremy Doku’s 97th minute goal rescued a draw for Pep Guardiola’s side on Monday evening, leaving them five points behind leaders Arsenal with a game in hand.