Euro 2025: Lucy Bronze issues warning over Jess Carter racist abuse
Bronze spoke out on 20 July 2025, condemning the hateful messages Carter received online. She said: 'The abuse is not okay. Racism is not okay.'
The England squad held meetings to address the issue, showing solidarity with Carter and others affected by racism.
Bronze called for greater accountability from social media platforms to protect players.
As a result, Carter has stepped back from social media, and the Lionesses announced they will no longer take the knee before Tuesday's Euro 2025 semi-final against Italy.
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The Independent
24 minutes ago
- The Independent
Children of Briton jailed in India for seven years without trial protest Modi's UK visit
As prime minister Sir Keir Starmer toasted what he called a 'historic day' for British- Indian relations at Chequers, just yards from Downing Street two young Britons stood with posters taped to their jackets and baggage. Alois Christian Michel and his sister Alienor were not protesting a government policy or trade deal. They were pleading for the freedom of their father Christian Michel. Michel, a British national, has spent over six years incarcerated in India's notorious Tihar Jail without trial. Despite bail orders from both the Delhi High Court and India's Supreme Court, he remains imprisoned after failing to meet the conditions set – leaving him trapped in a legal and political limbo with no end in sight. Michel's son, who gave an exclusive interview to The Independent during the protest with his sister, says they have lost patience with successive UK governments. 'The UK government has miserably failed to address human rights violations across Commonwealth countries, particularly in India,' says Alois, 27. 'A British national such as my father has now been illegally detained by Indian authorities for seven years, yet neither the previous government nor the present one has taken any concrete action against this inhumane conduct.' Their protest took place at the same time as Sir Keir and Indian prime minister Narendra Modi were meeting to approve a sweeping trade agreement worth £6bn in investment that is expected to boost Britain's GDP by nearly £5bn. Referring to British officials, Alois says: 'They say they'll 'raise interest' in the case. After seven years, is that all? It's ridiculous.' Michel, a businessman and consultant, was extradited from Dubai to India in 2018 over allegations he acted as a middleman in a 2010 defence deal involving Italian firm AgustaWestland. Indian investigators allege bribes were paid to secure a £322m contract to supply helicopters – charges he denies. India's legal system is notoriously slow and overburdened, which is why it has a law stipulating that a suspect must be released from prison once they have served half of what would have been the maximum sentence if they were convicted. In Michel's case that was seven years, meaning he should have been released midway through 2021. His lawyers argue he should be freed unconditionally – instead, the courts have granted him bail while investigators continue to probe his case. It means that Michel remains in prison because he cannot meet the stringent conditions imposed. He has no address in India, no family members in the country, and no one willing to act as a guarantor – factors that have rendered the bail order effectively meaningless. At a hearing in April, Michel revealed to the court that the only person willing to vouch for him was Jo Johnson, former MP and brother to ex-prime minister Boris Johnson. Back in London, his children remain cut off from their father, their only contact being brief, choked phone calls. 'The last time I spoke to him was last weekend. Less than 10 seconds,' Alois tells The Independent. 'That's all we get. I haven't seen him in nearly seven and a half years.' He was just 20 when his father was extradited. 'I was in the middle of my studies. Everything just stopped,' he recalls. 'Emotionally, financially, it's been really tough. And for my sister… she was just a teenager when our father was taken away.' The siblings have never visited their father in India. The reason, Alois says, is fear. 'He's in Tihar prison. I would like to see him, but how much am I risking by going there? In a country that doesn't follow its own laws, they could arrest me too – use me as leverage with my father,' he says. 'It's too dangerous. And I won't have me put in a position where my father is forced to do anything because of my arrest in India.' They have justification to be concerned. Michel has alleged two separate attempts on his life in prison, claiming that a hired killer confessed to being paid to assassinate him. Despite his appeals, no meaningful investigation was launched, he claims. 'A professional killer tried to kill me twice,' Michel told The Independent during an earlier court appearance. 'He was paid money, and they never investigated who paid him or why.' Michel's legal team argues that the entire case is politically motivated, a claim that gained traction after the UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention ruled in 2021 that his detention was arbitrary and called for his immediate release. 'The United Nations has said he should be released. Indian law states he should be released. And yet, here we are,' says Michel's son. 'All we're asking is for the Indian government to follow its own laws. And for the UK government to hold them to it.' 'We really just desperately want something to happen,' says Alois. 'Some people wait in hope. In our case, we wait in despair.' As his ordeal has stretched on, Michel's health has suffered. Earlier this year he was admitted to the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) hospital in Delhi for hip surgery, and he has walked with a cane when attending court appearances since. 'We have one fear now,' Alois says. 'That he never comes back.' The broader implications of Michel's detention extend far beyond a single family's suffering. His case has become a litmus test of the UK government's willingness to protect its citizens abroad – particularly when doing so risks complicating lucrative diplomatic engagements. 'The people of Great Britain gave a clear and resounding mandate to the Labour Party to reclaim the country from the grip of bureaucratic dominance and restore the nation's pride,' says Michel's son. 'But this government, too, is proving weak – submissive to bureaucracy, unwilling to defend its own citizens.' Trade, security cooperation and joint efforts against organised crime dominated the headlines around the Modi-Starmer summit. But despite the family's heartbreak, Michel's imprisonment was not raised publicly during Modi's UK visit. Neither leader allowed the media to ask any questions and their talks took place in the prime minister's country residence, away from any public displays of anger in London. 'We are just asking both governments to respect the UN ruling,' Alois says. 'Follow the law, and let him go.'
Daily Mirror
25 minutes ago
- Daily Mirror
Keira Walsh outlines hopes for Euro 2025 final as Lionesses face Spain repeat
England face Spain in the final of the European Championships on Sunday, two years after their World Cup final meeting where Spain's joy and jubilation was ultimately overshadowed by Luis Rubiales kissing Jenni Hermoso without her consent Keira Walsh is gunning for victory over Spain in Sunday's Euros final but still hopes her opponents can enjoy the game and avoid a repeat of the distractions which followed the 2023 World Cup final. What should have been a celebration for Spain after they beat England in Australia was marred by post-match controversy when Spanish football chief Luis Rubiales kissed player Jenni Hermoso without her consent. Rubiales denied charges of sexual assault, but was later found guilty by a Spanish court. He was acquitted of a separate charge of coercion in relation to the events which followed that final. England and Spain will meet again on Sunday in Basel and Walsh wants the football to be the main story this time. 'The most important thing for them as a footballer is that they can enjoy this final – that there's not the controversy surrounding it and the girls deserve to be there to play incredible football,' the midfielder said. 'First and foremost for them as human beings is that they can actually just go out and enjoy this game. After the game there was a lot of controversy and I don't think, for them, there was enough spotlight on how incredible they played and how incredible some of their players were, it was all about the other stuff that had gone on. 'As a professional, that was disappointing to see. I have a lot of friends in that team and I think they probably deserved a little bit more than what they got.' England saw a huge boost in women's football after their Euros triumph on home soil in 2022. It hasn't been the same in Spain, though, and Walsh - who was a Barcelona player at the time - saw some of it first-hand. "I think they probably could have had more [respect]. I think, the way our league jumped after we won the Euros and everything in and around it, if you compare it to Spain it probably wasn't the same and they won the World Cup." The Lionesses played 120 minutes for the second straight game in Tuesday's semi-final against Italy. They didn't need penalties, as was the case in the previous round against Sweden, but recovery will be the key after going the distance for the second time in a week. Sarina Wiegman's squad have been spending time out by the pool as they aim to take advantage of the extra day's recovery - they have five days between matches, rather than four during the group stages. However Walsh is prepared for another long, drawn out game and a chance to show the never-say-die mentality. '"Honestly, I think [that mentality] it's a part of being English," she said. "That's what we feel when we put the shirt on – it's that we give everything, we run ourselves into the ground. "That's the beauty of this squad is that we know that if we have to come off because we're tired, there's going to be someone else who's going to come on and finish the job. That's kind of just what we speak about as a team is that English resilience and it's something that we're really pride ourselves on and you can see that in the last two games that that's something we really believe in."
The Guardian
25 minutes ago
- The Guardian
Can England's haphazard winning machine curtail Spain's Euros party?
Deep down, England always knew it would come to this. They woke on Thursday with their assignment crystal clear: outwit a seemingly invincible Spain if they are to cement their place in history and retain the European Championship title. A thankless task? It has been billed that way but there were elements of encouragement during a sapping, knife-edge semi-final in Zurich that Spain could easily have lost. For the first time this summer they were taken to the wire and the thought occurred that, if a weakened Germany could run them to within an Aitana Bonmatí masterstroke of the full distance, the Lionesses' haphazard winning machine stands a fighting chance of curtailing the favourites' party. 'I feel like the hard work has paid off,' the Spain manager, Montse Tomé, said after they had edged through. They were tested to the limit by a Germany team that squeezed space and, when opportunities arose, flooded forward. The goalkeeper Cata Coll made a handful of decisive saves and England will spend the coming days poring over the ways in which she can be exposed further. They will certainly have noted how Germany, happy to give up possession in the first two-thirds of the pitch, caused intermittent havoc on the counter. Lauren Hemp may take particular interest in how Klara Bühl, whose blend of power and trickery deserved greater reward, exposed them repeatedly on Germany's left side. Bühl was never afraid to let fly and worked numerous positions in which to do so, although her best chance came when Spain were caught cold by a long pass by the keeper Ann-Katrin Berger. Jule Brand, a sparkling presence on the other side, caused headaches of her own. If England can expose the Spain full-backs, Ona Batlle and Olga Carmona, there will be opportunities to make hay. The question is whether Sarina Wiegman would willingly encourage the kind of punchy, sometimes scrappy showing Germany produced to invite them on. Like Spain, the reigning world champions would rather have the ball: they have dominated it in all of their five games, comprehensively in most cases. Do England have it in them to set up for a smash and grab? Evidence that they may do presented itself in February, when Wiegman's side won 1-0 at Wembley with a triumph of guts over guile. They had 41% of possession but nicked the spoils through Jess Park and could consider the outcome deserved. Two-thirds of the starters from this week's semi-finals also began that game; perhaps the concern is that, since then, England have neither looked similarly solid nor fluent enough to compensate. Spain appear perfectly aware of that judging by Mariona Caldentey's unprompted acknowledgment during the post-game melee in Zurich that England are yet to truly sparkle. It remains possible that they will not need to. Wiegman may also note the way Germany's midfield of Elisa Senss, Sara Däbritz and Janina Minge set into their counterparts whenever danger threatened. Bonmatí was, bar a couple of silky incursions, restrained until her angled bolt from the blue; Alexia Putellas was uncharacteristically quiet and few of those little pockets, the half-gaps between the lines, in which Spain love to wreak chaos were made available. If Wiegman wants to take inspiration then the insertion of Grace Clinton, who shone in that Nations League triumph five months ago, alongside Keira Walsh and Georgia Stanway could generate a similar energy. Sign up to Moving the Goalposts No topic is too small or too big for us to cover as we deliver a twice-weekly roundup of the wonderful world of women's football after newsletter promotion It may ultimately be lost to time that Spain were breached three times in the group stage, twice by Belgium and via an unexpected Italy opener, but England will have their chances. Balls down the centre-backs' sides also caused occasional trouble on Wednesday night. But for all these shoots of encouragement, they will require a far more clinical edge than Germany proved capable of mustering. Perhaps, in such a delicate match-up, intangibles come into play. It was clear from the extent of Spain's celebrations that debuting in a continental final, and a first win over Germany, meant the world. 'An infinite joy,' Tomé said. A weight of expectation accompanies that opportunity to make the next step, especially when you have been heavily backed to cruise home. Failure stings, just as seven of Spain's likely starting lineup will remember from Barcelona's Women's Champions League final against Arsenal two months ago, when the English side played the upstart role to perfection. 'This is not over yet,' Bonmatí said. England remain the team that have it all to do. Eyes may burn with the vision of decisively avenging that World Cup final defeat in Sydney two years ago, but the bottom line is that they must improve significantly on that performance. Germany's organised, aggressive and whip-smart offering may just have shown how to go about it.
