England defender Jess Carter has revealed she has been the target of “a lot of racial abuse” during Euro 2025.
The 27-year-old has started all of the defending champions’ matches so far in Switzerland and says she will now take a step back from social media to focus on the remainder of the campaign.
England next travel to Geneva where they will face Italy in the semi-finals on Tuesday night.
Writing on her Instagram account, Carter said in a statement: “A message to the fans…
“From the start of the tournament I have experienced a lot of racial abuse. Whilst 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 any way 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.”
