
Euro 2025: England coach Wiegman says Jess Carter is ready for semifinal despite online abuse
Defending champion England plays Italy on Tuesday, two days after Carter, who is Black, revealed she was subjected to racist abuse this month that was reported to police at home.
'She's ready to perform and to compete. That says also a lot about her and about the team,' Wiegman said at the Geneva stadium.
'Of course, it's really sad that we have to be occupied by this,' the coach added. 'It's ridiculous, it's disgusting what's happening and that goes beyond football.'
England trailed by two goals after a rough first half-hour against Sweden in the quarterfinals in Zurich, then rallied late to level the game. England won a memorably chaotic penalty shootout.
Carter is 'not the only one that gets this abuse or this racism,' Wiegman said, adding her team was ready to send a 'message to the world.'
England midfielder Georgia Stanway said the collective support for Carter 'probably brought us together as a team.'
England players talked about the abuse, Stanway said: 'A few people want to come off social media because they're fed up with it.'
Tournament organizer UEFA, like world soccer body FIFA and the International Olympic Committee, try to protect athletes with online platforms that flag up abusive posts reported to social media operators.
UEFA acknowledged last week this strategy has limited success because of the regulations applied by social networks.
Thursdays
Keep up to date on sports with Mike McIntyre's weekly newsletter.
'Although it's a hard situation, Jess is a very strong person,' Wiegman said. 'She also felt, and so did we, that we had to address this. You can't just let it go.'
The 27-year-old Carter has played 49 times for England, and came to Euro 2025 after helping her club Gotham FC in New Jersey win the CONCACAF Champions Cup final.
Carter's teammates at Gotham include her partner Ann-Katrin Berger, the goalkeeper who was the star of Germany's win over France in the quarterfinals. Germany plays tournament favorite Spain in the other semifinal on Wednesday in Zurich.
___
AP soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccer
Hashtags

Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles


Toronto Star
12 minutes ago
- Toronto Star
Thailand and Cambodia trade accusations as deadly border clashes enter third day
SURIN, Thailand (AP) — Thailand and Cambodia traded accusations Saturday of fresh attacks as deadly border clashes entered a third day, leaving at least 33 people dead and more than 168,000 displaced, as international pressure mounted on both sides to reach a ceasefire. Artillery fire and gunshots were reported near several border villages, expanding the area of the fighting that flared again Thursday after a land mine explosion along the border wounded five Thai soldiers. Cambodian and Thai officials claimed to have acted in retaliation.


Winnipeg Free Press
12 minutes ago
- Winnipeg Free Press
Thailand and Cambodia trade accusations as deadly border clashes enter third day
SURIN, Thailand (AP) — Thailand and Cambodia traded accusations Saturday of fresh attacks as deadly border clashes entered a third day, leaving at least 33 people dead and more than 168,000 displaced, as international pressure mounted on both sides to reach a ceasefire. Artillery fire and gunshots were reported near several border villages, expanding the area of the fighting that flared again Thursday after a land mine explosion along the border wounded five Thai soldiers. Cambodian and Thai officials claimed to have acted in retaliation. Both countries recalled their ambassadors and Thailand closed its northeastern border crossings with Cambodia. Cambodian authorities reported on Saturday 12 new deaths, bringing its toll to 13, while Thai officials said a soldier was killed, raising the deaths to 20, mostly civilians. The regional bloc, the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, or ASEAN, is under growing pressure to defuse the situation between its two members. During an emergency meeting on Friday, members of the U.N. Security Council called for de-escalation and urged ASEAN to mediate a peaceful solution. The 800-kilometer (500-mile) frontier between Thailand and Cambodia has been disputed for decades, but past confrontations have been limited and brief. The current tensions broke out in May when a Cambodian soldier was killed in a confrontation that created a diplomatic rift and roiled Thailand's domestic politics. Fresh attacks and rising tension Cambodia's Defense Ministry condemned what it said was an expanded Thai offensive early Saturday after five heavy artillery shells were fired into multiple locations in the province of Pursat, calling the attack an 'unprovoked and premeditated act of aggression.' Ministry spokesperson, Lt. Gen. Maly Socheata, said tensions flared in the province of Koh Kong, where four Thai naval vessels were reportedly stationed offshore and four others en route. She said the naval deployment was an 'act of aggression' that risked further escalation. Maly Socheata said seven civilians and five soldiers were killed in two days of fighting. Earlier, one man was reported dead after a pagoda he was hiding under was hit by Thai rockets. The Thai army had denied targeting Cambodian civilian sites and accused Phnom Penh of using 'human shields' by positioning their weapons near residential areas. Meanwhile, Thailand's navy, in a statement Saturday, accused Cambodian forces of initiating a new attack in the province of Trat, saying Thai forces responded swiftly and 'successfully pushed back the Cambodian incursion at three key points', warning that 'aggression will not be tolerated.' Thai authorities also alleged several Cambodian artillery shells had landed across the border in Laos, damaging homes and property. Lao officials have not publicly responded to the claim. The conflict has so far left thousands displaced. Cambodia's Information Minister Neth Pheaktra said Saturday the clashes had forced 10,865 Cambodian families, or 37,635 people, in three border provinces to evacuate to safe locations, while Thai officials said more than 131,000 people had fled their border villages. Call to protect civilians amid claim of cluster bomb use Human Rights Watch urged the U.N. Security Council and concerned governments to press the Thai and Cambodian governments to abide by international humanitarian law and take all steps to protect civilians. Children have been harmed and Thai authorities have closed at least 852 schools and seven hospitals for safety reasons, the rights group said in a statement Saturday. Both sides have employed rocket and artillery attacks, and after initially denying Cambodian claims that internationally prohibited cluster munitions were being used, a Thai military spokesperson in a statement Friday said that such weapons could be utilized 'when necessary' to target military objectives. HRW condemned the use of cluster munitions in populated areas. Neither Thailand nor Cambodia is party to the Convention on Cluster Munitions, which bans the use of the weapon and Thai authorities had previously used them during a border dispute with Cambodia in February 2011 that left 20 people dead. 'Neither Thailand nor Cambodia appears to be paying attention to international humanitarian law at great expense to civilians,' John Sifton, Asia advocacy director at Human Rights Watch, said in a statement. 'Diplomatic efforts underway need to prioritize protecting civilians and civilian infrastructure.' Thai officials also acknowledged the use of F-16 jets and drones to launch airstrikes. UN urges ASEAN bloc to mediate The U.N. Security Council didn't issue a resolution on the crisis during its Friday emergency session, but Thai Foreign Minister Maris Sangiampongsa said Saturday all 15 member countries called on both sides to exercise restraint, halt attacks, and resolve the dispute peacefully. They also supported ASEAN's role in mediating between its two member states, he said. Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim, whose country is the current ASEAN chair, had earlier said Thailand and Cambodia were open in principle to his ceasefire proposal. Malaysian media said Anwar has tasked the country's foreign minister to mediate peace talks to halt the fighting. Maris said Saturday his country agreed in principle to the proposal, but insisted that Cambodia must first show sincerity and cease hostilities, adding that Thailand would continue to engage constructively with Malaysia. 'Thailand reaffirms its commitment to resolving the conflict peacefully and in accordance with international law,' he said, urging Cambodia to 'return to the negotiating table with sincerity and in good faith.' ___ Associated Press writers Chalida Ekvitthayavechnukul and Grant Peck in Bangkok, and Eileen Ng in Kuala Lumpur contributed to this report. Sopheng Cheang reported from Oddar Meanchey, Cambodia.


Winnipeg Free Press
42 minutes ago
- Winnipeg Free Press
Unknown gunmen kill 6, wound 20 in an attack on a court building in southeast Iran
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — Unknown attackers launched a gun and grenade attack on a court building in southeast Iran Saturday, killing six people including a child and wounding 20, state TV reported. The report said security forces killed three of the gunmen in the armed clash in the country's restive southern province of Sistan and Baluchestan. It did not identify any of the victims. State TV said the attack happened in the province's capital city of Zahedan. Police and security forces immediately took control of the site, 1,130 kilometers or 700 miles southeast of the capital, Tehran. A report by the semiofficial Tasnim news agency, believed to be close to security forces, blamed the attack on the militant group Jaish al-Adl, which wants independence for Iran's eastern Sistan and Pakistan's southwestern Baluchistan provinces. The province, bordering Afghanistan and Pakistan, has been the site of occasional deadly clashes involving militant groups, armed drug smugglers and Iranian security forces. In October, an attack on an Iranian police convoy in the province killed at least 10 officers. Sistan and Baluchistan province is one of the least developed parts of Iran. Relations between the predominantly Sunni Muslim residents of the region and Iran's Shiite theocracy have long been strained.