England have condemned the “online poison” of racist abuse directed at the defender Jess Carter during the European Championship in Switzerland and said they would stop taking a knee before matches because “football needs to find another way to tackle racism”.
Carter received criticism after her performance in England’s defeat against France in their opening game of the tournament and was subsequently shifted from left-back to centre-back. She struggled again during Thursday’s quarter-final victory against Sweden and has now revealed the unacceptable vitriol she has been a victim of while on international duty.
“From the start of the tournament I have experienced a lot of racial abuse,” the 27-year-old defender wrote on Instagram. “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.”
Carter has received widespread support, most emphatically from her teammates. 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.”
The statement added: “Those behind this online poison must be held accountable.”
Lotte Wubben-Moy went further by announcing she was also coming off social media. In a statement, the Arsenal defender said: “Another tournament goes by where we see the same disgusting racist abuse. 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.”
Speaking about the Lionesses’ decision to stop taking the knee, Lucy Bronze said: “It was driven by the group – obviously certain individuals more than others. 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.
“It’s about putting another statement out there to say, you know, 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, what that is right now as an individual, 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.”
The Football Association is working with authorities to track down those responsible for targeting Carter. The chief executive, Mark Bullingham, said: “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.”
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Kick It Out has also come out in support of Carter, backing her decision “to look after her own wellbeing”, with the prime minister also standing shoulder-to-shoulder with the player. “There is no place for racism in football or anywhere in society,” Keir Starmer said in a statement. “I stand with Jess, the Lionesses, and any players who have suffered racism, on and off the pitch.”
Uefa condemned what had happened, saying “abuse and discrimination should never be tolerated, whether in football or society, in person or online” – a stance shared by the player’s club, Gotham FC.
“We are heartbroken and outraged by the racist abuse directed at Jess Carter,” Gotham said in a statement.
“Jess is not only a world-class football player – she is a role model, a leader and a valued part of our family. 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.”
Carter, who was excellent in England’s 4-0 group stage victory against the Netherlands, went on to thank “genuine” England fans for their support, making clear her “focus is on helping the team any way I can” before their semi-final against Italy on Tuesday. “Hopefully, speaking out will make the people writing this abuse think twice so that others won’t have to deal with it,” she said.
“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.”
