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Merseyside Police have issued an update after reports that Bournemouth player Antoine Semenyo was racially abused during Liverpool's win over the Cherries on Friday.
In a statement, Merseyside Police said: "We can confirm a 47-year-old man has been ejected from Anfield Stadium following reports of racist abuse directed towards the Bournemouth player Antoine Semenyo at this evening's opening game of the season between Liverpool and Bournemouth.
"An investigation is underway after the man's identity was confirmed and he was removed from the ground."
Chief Inspector Kev Chatterton, who was the match commander for the game at Anfield, said: "Merseyside Police will not tolerate hate crime of any form.
"We take incidents like this very seriously, and in cases like this we will be proactively seeking football banning orders, with the club, against those responsible.
“There is no place for racism, and it is vital that anyone who witnesses such an offence reports it to stewards or the police immediately, so we can take the necessary action like we did this evening.
"As with all matches, we work very closely with both Liverpool and Everton FC to ensure the safety of the public and the players."
Arne Slot was asked about the incident post-match. "It is obvious we do not want this in football," he said.
"We definitely don't want this at Anfield. Unfortunately it is part of the story because we should talk about the great tribute for Diogo Jota. This should never happen in football, let alone Anfield."
A Liverpool FC statement read: "Liverpool Football Club is aware of an allegation of racist abuse made during our Premier League game against AFC Bournemouth.
"We condemn racism and discrimination in all forms, it has no place in society or football. The club is unable to comment further as tonight’s alleged incident is the subject of an ongoing police investigation, which we will support fully."
"Straight away, Antoine and the referee told us," Bournemouth boss Andoni Iraola said. "The person has been identified. It is a big shame these things keep happening.
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"First game of the season, a lovely game of football and I have to speak about these things happening. A big shame."
"It's more anger," Bournemouth captain Adam Smith added. "Shocked. I said to the ref I wanted [the alleged culprit] removed immediately but the police went and sorted it.
"The Liverpool players were very supportive to Ant and the rest of the team. Just so angry. We've had discussions with the Premier League about it so they have been taking it seriously. I don't know what else we can do.
"We've been doing it for a long time now and no-one is getting it. I just feel sorry for Ant and he's had to take that. The whole country is watching and it's shocking."
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