Jess Carter has thanked England fans for their “unbelievable support” after revealing she was racially abused on social media during Euro 2025. The Lionesses defender said if speaking up stopped just one instance of abuse, it would be worth it.
Carter announced on Sunday she was stepping away from social media due to what teammates called “online poison” aimed at her during the tournament. Before the extra-time win against Italy on Tuesday, England’s substitutes stood arm-in-arm with Carter in a show of support, after deciding not to take the knee before kick-off.
Speaking to Sky Sports News, Carter said: “I totally understand everyone has got their own opinions on how we play. Trust me, no one is more disappointed in some of my performances than what I am, but the colour of my skin has got nothing to do with that. It’s been pretty tough. I’m not saying it [speaking out] is going to make a big difference and make a change but hopefully just making people aware that it’s not OK. Racism is still going on and we’re just here to do our job to the best of our ability and hopefully bring success back to England.”
Labour MP Matt Western revealed that 91 MPs had co-signed a letter calling on social media companies to tackle “the appalling racism and misogyny” directed at Carter. Carter, who grew up in Western’s constituency, told Hayters TV: “I’ve got mixed-race nephews and nieces. I want them to grow up being strong, brave and powerful and believe that they can do whatever they want to do. If me speaking up makes one silly person keep their mouth shut with certain comments, then that’s a big enough difference for me.”
Carter also praised her team’s fighting spirit after the late win against Italy, saying: “The way our team just keeps fighting until the end of every single game just shows the character that we have in this team. I think we’d all agree that we are hating the way that we are winning these games... everyone’s aged about 20 years in the past two hours. It’s not the way we want to win games but, at the end of the day, we won and the most important thing is that we’re through to the final.”
