England defender Jess Carter has said that she is stepping away from social media after experiencing ‘a lot of racial abuse’ during Euro 2025.
The 27-year-old Lioness wrote: ‘From the start of the tournament, I have experienced a lot of racial abuse.
‘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.
‘As a result of this I will be taking a step back from social media and leaving it to a team to deal with.’
The England player has received the full backing of the squad, who have said that they will not take the knee ahead of their semi-final clash against Italy.
‘Until now, we have chosen to take the knee before matches,’ a statement from Lionesses read.
‘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.’
‘In the meantime, we know the FA are working with UK police and the appropriate bodies,’ it added. ‘Those behind this online poison must be held accountable.’
Lionesses manager Sarina Wiegman shared the statement, adding: ‘I stand with Jess, and all Lionesses players past and present who have suffered racism.’
Carter, who plays for NWSL side Gotham FC, has started every game in Switzerland so far. She was withdrawn for Esme Morgan in the 70th minute of the quarter-final clash against Sweden.
Her statement continued: ‘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.
‘Hopefully speaking out will make the people writing this abuse think twice so that others won’t have to deal with it.
‘We have made some historic changes with this Lionesses squad that I am so proud to be a 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 of my energy into helping my team.’
Mark Bullingham, the FA CEO said: ‘Our priority is Jess and giving her all the support she needs,’ said Bullingham. ‘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.
‘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.’
