England Women defender Jess Carter has revealed she has been racially abused by fans on social media during Euro 2025 – with her Lionesses team-mates hitting out at the ‘vile’ messages.
The 27-year-old defender has started all four of England’s games in Switzerland so far but revealed she has been subject to racist slurs on her social media accounts since the tournament began.
Alongside a statement released on her Instagram, a separate post from her Lionesses team-mates said it was “not right that some of us are treated differently because of the colour of our skin” and said they would not be taking the knee before Tuesday’s semi-final with Italy.
Carter wrote: “A message to the fans…
“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.
“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.”
Lionesses condemn ‘vile’ abuse from fans
In their own message released by the full squad and timed to support Carter’s statement, the Lionesses demanded those responsible should be held accountable for their actions and said they needed to find “another way” to stand against racism as a team.
Their statement on X said: “We stand with Jess and all Lionesses players past and present who have suffered racism. No one should have to endure such vile abuse, be that in football or any walk of life.
“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.
“We hope the game can come together to see what more can be done. For now, we will return our total focus to an important semi-final.
“In the meantime, we know the FA are working with UK police and the appropriate bodies. Those behind this online poison must be held accountable.”
