Lionesses show support for Jess Carter after racist abuse

England's Lionesses are supporting their teammate Jess Carter, after she revealed she has been the target of racist abuse during Euro 2025.

Jess, who has played for England since 2017 and was part of the team that won the Euros in 2022, said the abuse had been ongoing throughout this tournament.

The defender has faced some criticism for her performances, specifically against France and Sweden, and although she said fans can have opinions, she said it is never acceptable to target someone's race or appearance.

"From the start of the tournament I have experienced a lot of racial abuse," said Carter. "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.

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 English Football Association (FA) has confirmed it is working with the police “to ensure those responsible for this hate crime are brought to justice".

In response the England women’s team has also confirmed they will no longer make the anti-racism gesture of taking the knee (kneeling down) before matches, stating it was "clear we and football need to find another way to tackle racism".

England manager Sarina Wiegman gave her full backing to Carter, saying she would "stand with Jess and all Lionesses players past and present who have suffered racism".

Meanwhile Lioness team mate, Lotte Wubben-Moy also announced she would be stepping away from social media.

England Defender Lucy Bronze explained that the team had held meetings before the tournament to discuss how online abuse had become a "huge factor specifically in women's football".

Speaking about Jess's decision to go public, Lucy said: "For her to speak out is so empowering to our whole team in general, especially to the likes of someone like Michelle [Agyemang] who is in her first tournament.

It gives people more power to be brave, stand up and speak up and see all the team-mates and the country are behind [Carter]. That means a lot in moments like this.

A lot of players have known that this has always been an issue in football. To hear Jess talking about it yesterday, we're all just so disappointed in so-called fans writing these messages."

The UK Prime Minister, Sir Keir Starmer sent a message of support to Jess and the Lionesses

Messages of support for Jess haven't just been from her team mates. UK Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer said: "There is no place for racism in football or anywhere in society. I stand with Jess, the Lionesses, and any players who have suffered racism, on and off the pitch."

Fifa President Gianni Infantino said he was "deeply saddened" by the abuse and added: "No player should be discriminated against in any way. They should be free to be at their very best on the pitch."

Jess's club in the United States, Gotham FC, said they were "heartbroken and outraged," describing her as "a role model, a leader and a valued part of our Gotham FC family".

Anti-racism charity Kick It Out praised Carter's decision to come forward and called for strong consequences for those responsible. Uefa, European football's governing body, said: "Abuse and discrimination should never be tolerated, whether in football or society, in person or online."

The Lionesses' next match is against Italy in the Euro 2025 semi-finals on Tuesday 22 July.