Liverpool manager Arne Slot has showered praise on Bournemouth striker Antoine Semenyo's resilience after being subjected to racial abuse during Friday's Premier League.
During the game at Anfield, the Ghana international was subjected to racial abuse by a Liverpool supporter in a wheelchair, leading to a temporary halt in the match.
The incident did not only spark immediate action from the stewards and Police, who ejected the fan from the stadium, but also ignited a boarder conversation about racism in football.
Despite the ordeal, Semenyo showed a remarkable resilience, scoring twice in the second half for Bournemouth in their 4-2 defeat to Liverpool in the Premier League opener.
Speaking after the game, Slot condemned the incident and expressed admiration for the 24-year-old’s ability to maintain focus under such circumstances.
"It's a good thing you talk about this, and it's a good thing that I have to answer this, but after actually this day should be about Diogo and about how the tribute was. But we definitely need to address this because it's unacceptable in every football stadium, let alone at Anfield.
"I spoke to him [Semenyo] after the game that we will try to do everything to find that person. I am not 100 per cent sure but I think they already found him. That's a good thing."
The Dutchman revealed he spoke with Semenyo after the match and reassured him of support.
"Wherever we can help him, we will try to do so. Big credit to him, if something happens like this and you can perform so well in the second half, then he's not only a great player, because that I can see [with] how fast he is, but he is also very strong mentally.
"If something like that happened [and] to get such a second-half performance, that sums up him as a person and him as a player. But, again, [it's] unacceptable in football in general, let alone at Anfield," he added.
The Merseyside Police has announced the arrest of the Liverpool fan in wheelchair who racially abused the Ghanaian footballer.
