Footballer Antoine Semenyo "froze" after he was allegedly racially abused by a fan during a Premier League match, a court has heard.
Semenyo, who was then playing for Bournemouth against Liverpool at Anfield in August and now plays for Manchester City, was about to take a throw-in when he alleges he saw Reds supporter Mark Mogan, a wheelchair user, and heard him shout: "Hurry up and take the throw-in, you b**** b******."
"That racial abuse was shouted directly at Antoine Semenyo, who was close to him," prosecutor Simon Jones told Liverpool Magistrates' Court. "Mr Semenyo briefly froze as he couldn't believe what the male had said." Mogan then allegedly shouted further abuse. "He looked straight at Antoine Semenyo when directing this abuse to him," Mr Jones said.
The player "didn't say anything back," but "was clearly hurt and upset with the racial abuse that had come his way." Semenyo reported the incident to match referee Anthony Taylor when the ball next went out of play, and Mogan was removed from the stadium at half-time, the court was told.
Two short video clips of the incident were shown to the court, in which Mr Jones said the defendant could be seen in an "agitated and angry state." Witnesses said Mogan took chewing gum from his mouth and threw it at Semenyo, striking him on the right side of his shorts. "We say that was plainly an unsavoury action from an angry man," Mr Jones said.
In a statement read to the court, fellow Liverpool fan Neil Sherratt said he saw Mogan, who sits next to him at matches, leave his bay in the disabled section of the Main Stand and approach the pitch as Semenyo came to take the throw-in. He said he heard Mogan shout something along the lines of "hurry up" and saw Semenyo turn towards him. "Semenyo had a shocked look on his face and I believe he has replied back by saying 'you what'," Sherratt said.
Another fan, Nicholas Collins, said after the incident Mogan became "very cocky and brazen" and said: "If the bizzies (police) come I'm going to deck them. I'm not going anywhere."
Mogan, of Templehill Close, Dovecot, denies racially aggravated behaviour. He was interviewed by police the following day and told officers he had shouted at Semenyo to "hurry up." "His account was that Antoine Semenyo called him a cripple which upset him," Mr Jones said. "He said he then threw some chewing gum onto the floor but not at Antoine Semenyo. The prosecution say Mr Mogan clearly lied in that police interview."
Semenyo had been due to give evidence over a videolink on Wednesday afternoon. But Mogan, who the court previously heard has cerebral palsy, suffered a seizure in the lunch break of proceedings and was taken to hospital by ambulance. An application to proceed with the trial in his absence was refused by District Judge Mary Dowrick, and the trial is expected to continue at a later date.
The case is the latest high-profile test of football's response to racist abuse from the stands. Despite years of campaigns, players continue to report being targeted during matches, and the sight of a player "freezing" on the touchline at one of the world's most famous stadiums has reignited debate about whether punishments for offenders go far enough.