England will not take the knee before kick-off at their semi-final against Italy as a mark of solidarity with their team-mate Jess Carter who has been subject to racial abuse during the European Championship.
England have, up until now, taken the knee ahead of all of their games but will stay standing on Tuesday.
Taking the knee is an anti-racism gesture, designed to protest against systematic racism and police brutality towards Black people, and was popularised in football in 2020 following the killing of George Floyd, an unarmed Black man, by a white police officer in the United States in May of that year.
Carter said on social media on Sunday that from the start of the tournament, she has “experienced a lot of racial abuse” and hopes raising the issues “will make the people writing this abuse think twice so others don’t have to deal with it.”
The decision was made as a team on Saturday evening, Lucy Bronze told media after the announcement. Players felt “anger” and “sadness” that their team-mates have had to endure racial abuse.
“We feel as a collective, is the message as strong as it used to be?” Bronze questioned. “Is the message really hitting hard? Because it feels like it’s not if these things are still happening to our players in the biggest tournaments of their lives. More needs to be done in football and society, what that is right now as an individual, I don’t exactly know.”
“It is clear we and football need to find another way to tackle racism,” a statement from the Lionesses squad read. “No one should have to endure such vile abuse, be that in football or any walk of life. Those behind this online poison must be held accountable.”
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. https://t.co/EdA3tA3dBf
— Keir Starmer (@Keir_Starmer) July 20, 2025
“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,” Carter’s statement said. “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.”
(Alexander Hassenstein/Getty Images)
Carter has started all four of England’s games at the Euros in Switzerland. In their 2-1 defeat by France, England full-backs Carter and Lucy Bronze struggled against Delphine Cascarino and Sandy Baltimore. “It felt like they could go wherever they wanted,” said Carter. “We all have days where we’re just having a bit of a ‘mare on the ball and, unfortunately, today there was more than one player doing that.”
The 27-year-old was also loose in possession against Sweden and Kosovare Asllani partially intercepted her pass and finished to put Sweden 1-0 up. For Sweden’s second, Blackstenius got the better of Carter and neatly slotted home. She was substituted in the 70th minute.
England players reposted Carter’s and the squad’s statement on social media while England head coach Sarina Wiegman wrote: “I stand with Jess, and all Lionesses players past and present who have suffered racism.
Arsenal’s Lotte Wubben-Moy said: “Another tournament goes by where we see the same disgusting racist abuse. It’s unacceptable for any person to be subject to this or any kind of abuse. This issue goes beyond sport. But what is being done about it? In society? On the very platforms we post on? I will not continue to feed the very platforms that enable this abuse with no consequences.”
“We stand with Jess,” added UEFA, which has developed an online abuse programme, aiming to monitor, report and remedy cases during its senior and youth tournaments. “Abuse and discrimination should never be tolerated, whether in football or society, in person or online.”
The National Women’s Soccer League, Carter’s club Gotham and the players’ union NWSL PA have also expressed their support.
“The NWSL Players Association unequivocally denounces the racist abuse targeting Jess Carter,” a statement read. “…We will not allow abuse of any kind to be normalised, minimised, or ignored.”
The English FA says it has contacted UK police and is working with the relevant social media platforms. FA CEO Mark Bullingham condemned “those responsible for this disgusting racism”.
“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,” his statement read.
Before the tournament, the team had meetings about the impact of social media, both positive and negative, and senior players have shared their experiences so that individuals can make informed decisions whether they want to engage or not.
Support from the player group, coaching staff led by Wiegman, security and psychologist teams are made available to England players.
(Top photo: Harriet Lander – The FA/The FA via Getty Images)
