Ian Wright has described taking the knee as a “personal” decision after England Women opted not to perform the gesture before their Euro 2025 semi-final against Italy on Tuesday evening. The Lionesses had taken a knee throughout the tournament in Switzerland but decided to stand before kick-off following discussions among the squad.
Defender Lucy Bronze explained that the team felt the gesture was no longer sending a strong enough message against discrimination. The decision comes after Jess Carter was subjected to racist abuse on social media while representing England. Wright, speaking on ITV, said he would personally still take the knee but stressed that each player should decide for themselves.
“For me personally, if I was playing now for everything the knee represents, I would probably still take the knee – even if I had to do it on my own,” Wright said. He added that families must build resilience against racist abuse, warning that such behaviour “is going to continue to come”.
Bronze told a press conference that the team wants to see bigger steps in tackling online racism. “It feels like there can be a place where we can control abuse online, especially racism online,” she said. “Everything is monitored online, so it just doesn’t make sense to us.”
