Jess Carter subjected to racist abuse on social media
The FA has confirmed that the police and 'appropriate bodies' have been contacted over the alleged abuse, but did not say why they were not prepared to identify the platforms on which the alleged abuse took place.
The team have been going down to one knee before kick-off of their matches so far at the tournament, but after Carter's ordeal believe 'we and football need to find another way to tackle racism'. Carter and her team-mate, Lotte Wubben-Moy, have confirmed they will step back from social media.
'No one should have to endure such vile abuse, be that in football or any walk of life', a statement from the squad read. '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 [when England play their Euros semi-final against Italy].
'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.'
Taking the knee has become a familiar form of protest against racial injustice at sporting events. Colin Kaepernick, the NFL quarterback, is thought to be the first to perform the gesture in 2016. It became prominent in football in 2020 after the killing of George Floyd sparked widespread protests against racism.
Although Women's Super League teams have taken the knee before games for the past five years, in August 2022 the Premier League announced that players would stop doing so before every match and instead 'select significant moments' to kneel. The England players no longer believe the action is sufficiently combating racism.
Carter, whose performances at the Euros have received some criticism, revealed her ordeal in a social media post. 'From the start of the tournament I have experienced a lot of racial abuse,' she said. 'While 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.'
HARRIET LANDER – THE FA/THE FA VIA GETTY IMAGES
Mark Bullingham, the FA CEO, added: 'Our priority is Jess and giving her all the support she needs. 'We strongly condemn those responsible for this disgusting racism.
'As soon as we were made aware of the racist abuse Jess received, we immediately contacted UK police. They are in touch with the relevant social media platform, and we are working with police to ensure those responsible for this hate crime are brought to justice.'
The incident is far from unprecedented in football. Among the most infamous was the abuse towards Marcus Rashford, Jadon Sancho and Bukayo Saka after they missed penalties in the Euro 2020 final against Italy.
'Regrettably, this is not the first time this has happened to an England player, so we had measures in place to allow us to respond quickly and where possible provide information to support any potential police action,' Bullingham said.
'We will continue to discuss with the relevant authorities and social media companies about what more can and should be done to prevent this abhorrent abuse.'
Wubben-Moy, the England defender, also released a statement on Instagram.
'Another tournament goes by where we see the same disgusting racist abuse,' she posted. 'It is unacceptable for any person to be subject to this or any kind of abuse. The issue goes beyond sport. But what is being done about it? On the very platforms we post on? I will not continue to feed the very platform that enables abuse with no consequence.'
Uefa released a brief statement saying: 'We stand with Jess. Abuse and discrimination should never be tolerated, whether in football or society, in person or online.'
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