The players of England said that they would not take the knee before the semi -final of Tuesday 2025 against Italy on Tuesday after defender Jess Carter “Vile” and “horrible” racist abuse was sent online after their quarter -final victory over Sweden.
The football club confirmed that they collaborate with the British police and the relevant social media platforms, while Carter said that she “would take a step back” from social media as a result of the abuse she received during the tournament.
In a statement, the lion ribbons said, “We must find another way to tackle racism” and confirmed that they will remain before the kick -off on Tuesday. Carter’s England teammate Lotte Wubben-Moy also said she would step out of social media in protest.
Carter played the first 70 minutes of the quarterfinals from England on Sweden on Thursday, but struggled during the first half when the Lionesses admit two goals. De Leeuwessen launched their comeback after Sarina Wiegman had made four changes in the second half, with Carter being replaced by Esme Morgan and Chloe Kelly, Beth Mead and Michelle Agyang all have an impact on the attack.
“From the start of the tournament I have experienced a lot of racial abuse,” Carter said in a statement that the FA released. “Although I feel that every fan is entitled to their opinion about the performance and the result, I disagree or do I think it is good to focus on someone’s appearance or race. As a result, I will take a step back from social media and leave it to a team to deal with.
“As always, I am grateful for all the support of the real fans, but I take this measure to protect myself in an attempt to keep my focus on helping the team anyway.
“Hopefully the expressing of the people who write this abuse will think twice, so that others should not handle it. We have made a number of historical changes with this Leeuwesesse team that I am so proud to be part of and my hope is that by talking about this it will make another positive change for everyone.
“I am looking forward to it now and concentrate on all my energy to help my team.”
The lion ribbons have taken their knee before all four games at the euros and have performed the anti-racism gesture since the murder of George Floyd in 2020.
But the team said it couldn’t keep taking the knee while players members racist abuse and called on the authorities to “come together” and do more to prevent “online poison”.
“We are over with Jess and all Lionesses players and present who have suffered racism,” said a team statement. “Nobody should endure such a mean abuse, whether in football or a larer lifespan.
“Representing our country is the greatest honor. It is not correct that although we do that, some of us are treated differently, simply because of the color of our skin.
“Until now we have chosen to take the knee in front of matches. It is clear that we and football have to find a different way to tackle racism. We have agreed as a team to stay on Tuesday for the kick -off.
“We hope that the game can come together to see what else can be done. For now we will reduce our total focus to an important semi -final. In the meantime we know that the FA is working with the British police and the right bodies.
“Those behind this online poison must be held responsible.”
The FA said before last summer’s euros that they would provide the police financing to help people identify and prosecute that England players sent racist abuse on social media. Bukayo Saka, Marcus Rashford and Jadon Sancho experienced racist abuse after missing fines in the last defeat of England 2020 against Italy,
Before the euros, English manager Sarina Wiegman emphasized social media as a ‘care’ and various players, including striker Alessia Russo, said before the tournament that they were planning to prevent them from watching social media while they are in Switzerland.
“Another tournament passes where we see the same disgusting racist abuse,” posted defender Wubben-Moy. “It is unacceptable that a person is subject to this or any kind of abuse. The issue goes beyond the sport. But what is being done about? On the platforms that we post? I will not continue to feed the platform that makes abuse possible without a consequence.”
“Our priority is Jess and gives her all the support she needs,” said Fa Chief Executive Bullingham. “We strongly condemn those who are responsible for this disgusting racism.
“As soon as we were informed of the racist abuse that Jess received, we immediately contacted the British police. They have contact with the relevant social media platform and we work together with the police to ensure that the person responsible for this hate crime is brought to court.
“Unfortunately, this is not the first time that this has happened to a player in England, so we had measures to enable us to respond quickly and where possible to provide information to support possible police action.
“We will continue to discuss with the relevant authorities and social media companies about what more can and must be done to prevent this disgusting abuse.”
England manager Wiegman said: “I am at Jess, and all the Lionesses players passed and present who have suffered racism.” UEFA also condemned the abuse and offered their support to Carter. “We are at Jess,” said a statement. “Abuse and discrimination should never be tolerated, in football or society, personal or online.”
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