The Red & The Black
The Kop has undeniably come a long way when it comes to dealing with race. Far too many writers on the subject of Liverpool FC are willing to gloss over or even outright deny the fractious history the club has had with its Black fans and players. But this does a disservice to the legitimate achievements Liverpool has made in this regard. I grew up in an era preceded by John Barnes’ time at Liverpool, sending waves through Black America. The picture of Barnes with Nelson Mandela is iconic to this day. Dr. Dre famously declared in 2012 that his 20-year love affair with Liverpool began with watching Barnes “making the ball talk.” Even now, Liverpool owes its massive global fanbase of Black fans to being at the pinnacle of global soccer at the moment when it signed John Barnes.
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Perservering Through Hostility
But that achievement has to be situated in context in order to be fully appreciated. At the time Barnes was signed, Liverpool had the second-worst record for recruiting Black talent in England, behind only Everton. The ill-treatment of Howard Gayle, the first to earn this benchmark, earned Liverpool a reputation for being particularly racist even among English football clubs. This was not helped in the slightest by the Kop’s reputation for racial abuse. Barnes recounts being welcomed to Anfield by racist graffiti adorning the walls. Black fans of the day report feeling extremely unwelcome. Tony Excell famously recounted the story of leaving Anfield with a spit-covered jacket in the 1970s. Barnes recalls that he saw barely any Black fans in the stadium when he joined the club in 1987.
It was an embarrassing sight for a city whose Black population has much stronger claims to indigeneity than just about any other city in the country. Even in modern times, Liverpool has rightfully cast aside that reputation. Despite the progress, old prejudices still cast a shadow over the club. The highly divisive controversy of the Suarez/Evra incident illustrates this nicely. Times have certainly changed, and only a fool would argue otherwise. But to act as though those racial woes are a long-forgotten relic of the past is a huge mistake.
Early Season Ugliness
In light of this history, I was massively disappointed to hear that the debut match of the 2025 season was interrupted by racial abuse from the Kop. I was listening to the match via LFCTV. Thus, all I had to go on at first was Jamie Carragher’s baffled reaction to the stoppage. Like many, I assumed the traditional PGMOL buffoonery that occurs at Anfield was to blame. It was not long before the truth became known. Matchday officials had to deal with an incident of racial abuse directed at Antoine Semenyo. Semenyo is a Londoner of Ghanaian origin. The dynamic winger has been at Bournemouth since 2023. He got that move after glittering play for his hometown club, Bristol City. He’s represented his home country in both the AFCON and the World Cup, qualifying thanks to FIFA’s revised nationality rules.
I follow the Black Stars with some interest, so I was aware of the forward just before his transfer. I must admit, he never truly made much of an impression on me. However, he started coming into his own in the Premier League. This coincided with his rapid rise in the Ghanaian setup. He’s a dangerous man. Bournemouth owes a lot of its current reputation of punching above its weight class to him. He’s certainly earned some respect, one of the many reasons why the Bournemouth incident was such a disgrace. Matchday banter is one thing, but certain lines simply cannot be crossed on the level of human decency.
Cutting Out The Cancer
Disappointing as it may have been in the moment, it was less than a day before that disappointment gave way to a sense of profound pride. The idiot fan who had abused Semenyo was escorted out amidst jeers and boos from nearby supporters. The condemnations of his actions were swift, decisive, and, as far as I can tell, unanimous. There was little to no controversy. Tried and true fans were unified in demanding a lifetime ban, revocation of his season ticket, and even criminal punishment. The outcry from Anfield was so impeccable that Semenyo himself expressed his gratitude to Liverpool players and supporters alike for rallying behind him.
The match played out almost as a rebuke of the nameless fan’s ignorance and stupidity. Semenyo scored a brace that seriously threatened to steal two points from the hosting side, while three of Liverpool’s four goals were scored by players of African descent. The match was closed out by the inimitable Mohamed Salah. There have been several instances where our King endured his share of abuse at the hands of rival fans.
Growing up Black, you hate hearing the “this isn’t who we are” excuse. The attempts to compartmentalize and distance oneself from the racist behavior of one’s neighbor come across as naive and selfish. But I believe that the Liverpool fans who came together to declare that the abuser was no true fan have proven the truth of that sentiment. In the words of Semenyo himself, the Kopites showed their true character by refusing to tolerate or excuse that kind of behavior. Actions speak louder than words. As a community, Liverpool supporters showed greater commitment to anti-racism than a decade of the Premier League’s flaccid sloganeering.
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I don’t flinch from the darker parts of the club’s history (pardon the expression), because that historical context allows moments like these to shine as brightly as they do. There’s still some work to do, of course. Semenyo endured escalating racial abuse online as he called for more stringent penalties for matchday racism. There was still a small but vocal contingent of fans attempting to downplay the severity of the incident. Testimony from longtime matchgoers suggests that this incident was part of a years-long pattern of bad behavior that went unchallenged by the officials in charge. But it’s at least worth celebrating that what could have been an ugly incident that marred the start of a historic title defense instead became a credit to the thousands of Liverpool fans who refused to let one lone idiot speak for them.