Lionesses rally round teammate Jess Carter after she faces ‘online poison’ of racist abuse
Jess Carter of England has been subjected to racism. (Harriet Lander – The FA/The FA via Getty Images)
Jess Carter of England has been subjected to racism. (Harriet Lander - The FA/The FA via Getty Images)
Lionesses including Lucy Bronze have stepped up to support teammate Jess Carter after she revealed the racism to which she has been subjected.
Ahead of England’s Euros semi-final against Italy on Tuesday (22 July) – having turned what looked like certain defeat into victory – Jess Carter has talked about the criticism she’s faced for her performances in earlier games against France and Sweden.
On Sunday (20 July), she took to social media to share “a message to the fans”, saying she had “experienced a lot of racial abuse” from the start of the tournament in Switzerland.
“While 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,” she wrote.
Jess Carter went on to announce that she will be taking a break from social media due to the racism, allowing teammates to handle her platforms. “As ever, I am grateful for all the support from the genuine fans but I’m taking this measure to protect myself in a bid to keep my focus on helping the team anyway I can.”
She hoped that by speaking out, “the people writing this abuse think twice so that others won’t have to deal with it”.
— Jess Carter (@_JessCarter) July 20, 2025
In a collective statement, the Lionesses said: “Representing our country is the greatest honour. It is not right that while we are doing that, some of us are treated differently simply because of the colour of our skin.
“Until now, we have chosen to take the knee before matches. It is clear we, and football, need to find another way to tackle racism. We have agreed as a squad to remain standing before kick‑off on Tuesday. Those behind this online poison must be held accountable.”
Lucy Bronze, a member of the LGBTQ+ community, added: “It’s a lot of anger and sadness that our teammates are going through this and we don’t want it to happen.”
@bbcwomensfootball "It's anger and sadness that our team-mates are going through this" Lucy Bronze has given her thoughts after Jess Carter said she has been experiencing "a lot of racial abuse". #JessCarter #LucyBronze #Lionesses #WEuro2025 #WomensFootball ♬ original sound – BBC Women’s Football
Turning to the decision to stop taking the knee, the Chelsea fullback said: “It’s about putting another statement out there to say [racism] is 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. What that is right now, I don’t exactly know. But it’s something that we collectively as a team and as a federation want to work towards, we want to make changes. This is a small step trying to create another change.”
Fellow defender Lotte Wubben-Moy took to Instagram to share that she will come off social media in support of Jess Carter.
“Another tournament goes by where we see the same disgusting racist abuse,” Wubben-Moy said. “It is unacceptable for any person to be subject to this or any kind of abuse. The issue goes beyond sport. But what is being done about it on the very platforms we post on? I will not continue to feed the very platform that enables abuse with no consequence.”
The Football Association (FA) is working with the police to track down those responsible for the racist abuse.
FA chief executive Mark Bullingham said: “Regrettably, this is not the first time this has happened to an England player, so we had measures in place to allow us to respond quickly and where possible provide information to support any potential police action. We will continue to discuss with the relevant authorities and social media companies about what more can – and should – be done to prevent this abhorrent abuse.”
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