Manchester City have condemned racist abuse that was directed towards Antoine Semenyo and Marc Guehi during and after Monday night’s 3-3 draw with Everton.
Semenyo was the victim of abuse during the match at Everton’s Hill Dickinson Stadium, while abuse was directed towards Guehi on social media after the match in which City dropped key points in the title race against Arsenal.
A statement from City said: “Manchester City strongly condemns the racist abuse directed towards Antoine Semenyo at yesterday’s match.
“We welcome the swift action taken by Everton and the police to identify the individual responsible.
“We are also incredibly disappointed to hear that Marc Guehi was subject to a series of vile racist social media posts last night.
“We will continue to offer our full support to both Antoine and Marc and never accept discrimination of any kind in our game.”
A separate statement from Everton said Merseyside Police had arrested a 71-year-old on suspicion of a racially aggravated public order offence after supporters and stewards reported the incident.
The statement said: “He has since been bailed with conditions, including restrictions preventing him from going within one mile of any designated sports stadium for a period of up to four hours before kick-off, during matches and up to four hours after the final whistle.
“Racism and discrimination in all forms are completely unacceptable. They have no place in our stadia, our sport or in society, and behaviour of this nature will not be tolerated.
“A swift response from fellow supporters, stewards and Merseyside Police led to the individual being identified and appropriate action taken.
“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.”
England defender Guehi, who made a key error that led to Everton equalising in the second half through Thierno Barry, had posted on Instagram after the match, writing: “I need to do better, but we keep going and focused on the next. Thank you for your support as always. Thank you Jesus!”
After Barry had cancelled out Jeremy Doku’s first-half goal, Everton stormed into a 3-1 lead with a Jake O’Brien header and another Barry strike, but Erling Haaland pulled one back before Doku equalised in the seventh minute of stoppage time.
A statement posted to the official England account on X read: “This type of behaviour is completely unacceptable and must have consequences.
“We stand with both Marc and his Manchester City team-mate Antoine, and support strong action by the authorities and social media companies.”
