PULSE POINTS
WHAT HAPPENED: The opening match of the 2025/2026 Premier League season was halted due to an alleged racist remark by one spectator.
WHO WAS INVOLVED: Referee Anthony Taylor, A.F.C. Bournemouth player Antoine Semenyo, Liverpool F.C., and the spectator.
WHEN & WHERE: August 15, 2025, at Liverpool F.C.’s home stadium in England.
KEY QUOTE: “They paused the Liverpool Bournemouth match because one of the players got their feelings hurt.” – Raheem Kassam
IMPACT: The incident highlights the increasing sensitivity of soccer players and institutions.
IN FULL
The opening match of the 2025/2026 Premier League soccer season between A.F.C. Bournemouth and defending champions Liverpool F.C. on Friday was unexpectedly halted after a Bournemouth player reported an alleged racist remark by a single spectator to the referee.
Antoine Semenyo, a 25-year-old black man born in Chelsea, London, to Ghanaian immigrants who plays for Ghana in international matches, reported the alleged incident to referee Anthony Taylor. The official halted the match shortly afterwards, and held talks with Bornemouth manager Andoni Iraola, who is Spanish, and Liverpool manager Arend “Arne” Slot, who is Dutch.
Pausing the match over a single spectator, reportedly a Liverpool supporter, shouting an insult at Semenyo has been decried by soccer fans as overkill on social media. Raheem Kassam—Editor-in-Chief of The National Pulse—commented, “They paused the Liverpool Bournemouth match because one of their players got their feelings hurt.”
English soccer has long been obsessed with “anti-racism,” with Premier League teams “taking a knee” for Black Lives Matter after George Floyd’s death as a matter of course until late 2022. The English women’s national team continued to take the knee before matches until July 2025.
They paused the Liverpool Bournemouth match because one of the players got their feelings hurt
https://t.co/IWcA3PlJbU
— Raheem J. Kassam (@RaheemKassam) August 15, 2025
Join Pulse+ to comment below, and receive exclusive e-mail analyses.
The post Opening EPL Match Paused Because Player Got Feelings Hurt by ‘Racist’ Heckler. appeared first on The National Pulse.
