Racist abuse of Jess Carter ‘ridiculous' and ‘disgusting', says England coach Wiegman
Carter revealed on social media on Sunday that from the start of the tournament, she has 'experienced a lot of racial abuse' and hopes raising the issue 'will make the people writing this abuse think twice so others don't have to deal with it'.
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England will not take the knee before kick-off of their last-four clash in Geneva, Switzerland as a mark of solidarity with their team-mate and instead will stay standing.
'It's really sad that we have to be occupied by this,' said Wiegman in England's pre-match press conference on Monday.
'It is ridiculous and disgusting what is happening and that goes beyond football. We had to pay attention to that and support Jess. Of course, she's not the only one who gets this abuse or racism. That's why she wanted to address it and she's fully supported by the team.'
When asked how she balances not giving in to the trolls and potentially protecting Carter by not playing her, Wiegman said: 'We had conversations, and although it's a hard situation, Jess is a very strong person. She wants to move on too, but she also felt, and so did we, that we have to address this, we can't just let it go.
'We're ready to perform, she's ready to perform and compete. That also says a lot about her and the team.'
Midfielder Georgia Stanway said the squad have been brought closer together and explained they have decided not to take a knee before kick-off because 'we want more action' on racism.
'We want to create more of a talking point and a point to make more change,' she said. 'We felt like the knee was just a little bit repetitive, it's come to a point where the knee isn't doing what we wanted it to do.'
Stanway also said it has not changed how she feels about putting on the England shirt because the abusers are not 'fans'.
'We know that we're wearing it for the people we stand next to, our families, the actual fans that are here to watch the game,' she said. 'I say it with power because I really believe it. I believe that people like that don't deserve to be called fans.'
Meanwhile Italy manager Andrea Sonicin and defender Cecilia Salvai said they have the 'greatest solidarity' with Carter.
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'I hope she can play the game and can detach a bit from that episode tomorrow,' said Salvai. 'Of course she is not the first one and we have the greatest solidarity with her.'
Soncin added: 'It should not be tolerated. We have a responsibility with the position we are in to send the right messages, we need to give educational messages, including to children. It is a cultural campaign and battle. I don't know if taking the knee is enough but we are ready to take part in any campaign to help this.'
There will be a meeting tonight to discuss any alternative pre-game gesture to the knee. Salvai said the players are 'open' and 'willing' to do whatever is needed to 'give a strong message'.
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