England defender Jess Carter steps back from social media after racist abuse, team condemns ‘online poison’
Jess Carter has featured in all four of England's games at the 2025 Women's Euros in Switzerland.
By Ben Morse, CNN
(CNN) — England’s Jess Carter says she will step back from social media after the defender said she has received “a lot of racist abuse” since the beginning of the 2025 UEFA Women’s Euros.
Carter has started all four matches for England as the team has reached the semifinal stage of the tournament, where the Lionesses are seeking to win their second consecutive European Championship.
“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,” the 27-year-old said in a statement posted across her social media channels. “As a result of this I will be taking a step back from social media and leaving it to a team to deal with.”
Carter added that she is making the decision to protect herself “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 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.”
CNN Sports has reached out to Meta and X for comment.
The official England women’s social media account released a statement in support of Carter, calling the abuse the defender has suffered “online poison.”
“No one should have to endure such vile abuse, be that in football or any walk of life,” the team said on X. “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.”
The statement added that England players will stand rather than kneel – an act of solidarity against racism and prejudice introduced to soccer following the global outrage over the 2020 murder of George Floyd – ahead of their semifinal clash on Tuesday.
“It is clear we and football need to find another way to tackle racism,” it said.
Mark Bullingham, CEO of the English Football Association (FA), said that the group is “working with police to ensure those responsible for this hate crime are brought to justice.”
“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.”
UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer offered his support for Carter, writing on social media: “There is no place for racism in football or anywhere in society.
“I stand with Jess, the Lionesses, and any players who have suffered racism, on and off the pitch,” Starmer said.
‘Getting worse and worse’
Online abuse directed at women’s soccer players was a subject discussed ahead of the Women’s Euros, with members of the England team saying they would avoid social media during major tournaments due to the abuse they are subjected to.
Carter’s England teammate Lotte Wubben-Moy announced on Sunday she would be coming off social media as a result of the persistent abuse.
“Another tournament goes by where we see the same disgusting racist abuse. It is unacceptable for any person to be subject to this or any kind of abuse,” Wubben-Moy said in a post on her Instagram Stories. “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.”
Another of Carter’s England teammates, defender Lucy Bronze, detailed the anger and sadness the whole squad felt upon hearing about the abuse targeted at Carter and that she hopes by standing before kick-off, rather than kneeling, will show that the players’ voices “make a difference.”
Bronze added that the increasing popularity of women’s soccer has led to increased abuse.
“The bigger the game gets, the bigger the noise becomes, the more fans there are, but the more critics there are,” Bronze told reporters. “We’re obviously open to critics – that’s why we love the sport – but we’re not open to abuse.
“Especially in women’s football, the online abuse seems to be getting worse and worse. We see it more in the stadiums in men’s football and online, but I think with women’s football there seems to be a real target online.
“It’s something that we’re very aware of. There is a way to make a change. There is a solution. I don’t have the answer, but I’m sure that there is one.”
Since making her debut for England in 2017, Carter has been an ever-present in subsequent squads and was a part of the team who won the Women’s Euros in 2022. She has made 49 appearances for the national side.
England will look to book its second successive Women’s Euros final as it plays Italy in the semifinal on Tuesday.
The-CNN-Wire
™ & © 2025 Cable News Network, Inc., a Warner Bros. Discovery Company. All rights reserved.
