ZURICH (AP) — England defender Jess Carter says she has been subject to racial abuse online at the Women’s European Championship.
Carter came in for a lot of criticism for her performance during England’s opening loss to France. And some of that has crossed the line even as the 27-year-old and the Lionesses have reached the semifinals at Euro 2025.
“From the start of the tournament I have experienced a lot of racial abuse,” Carter wrote in an emotional post on Instagram on Sunday. “Whilst I feel every fan is entitled to their opinion on performance and result I don’t agree or think it’s ok to target someone’s appearance or race.”
Carter has made 49 appearances for England and was part of the victorious Euro 2022 squad as well as an integral part of the team that finished runner-up to Spain at the World Cup the following year.
She says she will be taking a step back from social media.
“As ever I am grateful for all of the support from the genuine fans but I am taking this measure to protect myself in a bid to keep my focus on helping the team anyway I can,” Carted added.
The Football Association has contacted police back in the United Kingdom.
“Our priority is Jess and giving her all the support she needs,” FA CEO Mark Bullingham said. “We strongly condemn those responsible for this disgusting racism.
“As soon as we were made aware of the racist abuse Jess received, we immediately contacted UK police. They are in touch with the relevant social media platform, and we are working with police to ensure those responsible for this hate crime are brought to justice.”
Bullingham added that the FA had measures in place to respond quickly as “regrettably, this is not the first time this has happened to an England player.”
Carter’s teammates immediately responded to her Instagram post with messages of support.
The Lionesses also issued a joint statement condemning the “online poison” and announcing that they will no longer perform the anti-racism stance of taking a knee before matches because “it is clear we and football need to find another way to tackle racism.”
England defender Lucy Bronze elaborated on the group's decision.
“I think it was just the fact that we feel as a collective, is the message as strong as it used to be? Is the message really hitting hard? Because to us it feels like it’s not if these things are still happening to our players in the biggest tournaments of their lives,” Bronze said.
“It’s about putting another statement out there to say it’s something that still is a problem, it’s something that still needs to be put right, more needs to be done in football, more needs to be done in society."
Carter plays her club soccer for Gotham FC in the United States, having joined from Chelsea a year ago.
“We are heartbroken and outraged by the racist abuse directed at Jess Carter. Jess is not only a world-class football player — she is a role model, a leader and a valued part of our Gotham FC family,” the New York area-based team said in a statement.
“At Gotham, we believe in a culture of mutual respect and remain committed to building a game — and a community — where everyone feels safe, respected and celebrated. There is no place for racism in our sport.”
England plays Italy in the semifinals on Tuesday in Geneva, after a dramatic comeback against Sweden last week saw the Lionesses win a chaotic penalty shootout. The other semifinal pits Spain against Germany on Wednesday.
“Hopefully speaking out will make the people writing this abuse think twice so that others won't have to deal with it,” Carter said. "We have made some historic changes with this Lionesses squad that I am so proud to be part of and my hope is that by speaking out about this it will make another positive change for all.
“I'm now looking forward and focusing on putting all my energy into helping my team.”
Euro 2025 has so far delighted spectators with exciting matches as well as the stunning scenery around Switzerland.
However, as the women's game continues to grow it is also attracting more online vitriol.
“The bigger this sport has got, it seems to be that more abuse has come as well, and I think especially in women’s football, the online abuse seems to be getting worse and worse,” Bronze said. “We see it more in the stadiums in men’s football and online, but I think with women’s football, there seems to be a real target online.
“I think, with online platforms, it’s something that we can make a change to … there is a way to make the change, there is a solution. I don’t have the answer to that solution because I’m not head of a social media platform, but I’m sure that there is one.”
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AP soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccer
Daniella Matar, The Associated Press
