Football fans fumed on social media after Bournemouth star Antoine Semenyo was given a yellow card and allowed to stay on the pitch after appearing to grab Diogo Dalot by the throat during the Cherries’ clash with Manchester United.
The forward was incensed after the Portugal star bumped into him scrapping for the ball in mid-air, and flew at Dalot, seemingly clutching at the defender’s neck before the pair were separated.
Referee Simon Hooper opted to show both men a yellow card, but VAR intervened to look into whether Semenyo deserved to be given his marching orders.
Ultimately, the officials at Stockley Park decided not to overturn Hooper’s call, with Semenyo allowed to continue playing.
But commenters on social media suggested that the call should have gone the other way, citing Casemiro’s red card for aggressing Crystal Palace’s Will Hughes in a similar fashion during the 2022-23 season.
‘There’s no consistency in the Premier League,’ one fan posted on social media site X. ‘Red card for Casemiro, no red card for Semenyo.’
Another added: ‘Remember when Casemiro got a red card for literally exactly what Semenyo just did there’.
A third continued the theme, writing: ‘If Casemiro did what Semenyo did, it’s 100% a red card.’
Some Man United fans were keen to suggest an unlikely conspiracy, with one posting: ‘The only reason why Antoine Semenyo didn’t get a red card here is because he’s not a Manchester United player.’
But most were less partisan, with another commenter writing: ‘Still scratching my head at how Antoine Semenyo wasn’t sent off here…’.
VAR replays of the event showed how Semenyo just pulled back his hand before throttling Dalot, explaining in part the decision to keep the game evenly matched at 11 versus 11 as the two teams headed in for the half-time break.
One commenter suggested that ‘Every Man United fan was wishing Diogo Dalot went down after THAT from Semenyo…’ – and Ruben Amorim and Co might have hoped for similar, with Bournemouth hitting back at 2-1 at the start of the second-half, with Evanilson providing the equaliser.
Marcus Tavernier added to the comeback just six minutes later in the 52nd minute, leaving Man United to chase their lost lead with less than 20 minutes of normal time.
