England’s players stood before their Euro 2025 semi-final against Italy began on Tuesday after the Lionesses decided to stop taking the knee.
The substitutes stood arm-in-arm on the touchline before kick-off in a show of solidarity with team-mate Jess Carter, who has been subjected to online racist abuse since the tournament began.
They were not joined by their Italian counterparts.
When asked if Italy would make a gesture at the match, defender Cecilia Salvai said they were “open and willing to do anything necessary”.
Sections of the crowd at Stade de Geneve sung Carter’s song and applauded in the 16th minute in support of the defender, whose squad number is 16.
On Sunday, England’s players announced they would no longer take the knee before the start of matches after Carter revealed she has been racially abused on social media throughout the tournament.
The decision was questioned by the head of football’s international anti-discrimination body, Fare.
The Lionesses adopted the anti-racism gesture – popularised by American football player Colin Kaepernick in 2016 – during Euro 2022 and the 2023 Women’s World Cup, but said in a statement that it is “clear we and football need to find another way to tackle racism”.
On Monday, England manager Sarina Wiegman told BBC Sport’s Dan Roan: “Taking the knee, that’s not enough. We have done that for a while. The impact is not good enough, it’s not as big as we think.
“When there is this form of racism we felt we have to do something else, something different, so that’s why we are not taking the knee.”
Wiegman said that Carter “wants to play and is available,” but the Gotham FC defender was named among the substitutes with Esme Morgan preferred in central defence alongside captain Leah Williamson.
Speaking to ITV before the match, former England striker Ian Wright said that while he would take the knee if he were still playing, he felt the decision to do so is a “personal thing” and the gesture was “always forced on people”.
The winner of Tuesday’s game will play either Spain or Germany in the final at Basel’s St Jakob-Park on Sunday, 27 June at 17:00 BST.
