Lionesses defender Jess Carter stepping away from social media after racial abuse suffered during Euro 2025 | OneFootball

Lionesses defender Jess Carter has spoken out condemning the horrible online abuse she has received throughout England’s Women’s Euro 2025 campaign.

Carter has started all four games for the Lionesses throughout the tournament, with England set to face Italy in the semi-final on Tuesday July 22.

The defender took to social media on Sunday July 20 to condemn the racist abuse she has received from people online, saying she will be taking a break from social media.

“From the start of the tournament I have experienced a lot of racial abuse,” Carter wrote. “Whilst I feel every fan is entitled to their own 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 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 the 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 focussing on putting all of my energy into helping the team.”

The Football Association CEO Mark Bullingham has released a statement in response to the awful treatment Carter has received throughout the tournament.

“Our priority is Jess and giving her all the support she needs,” Bullingham said. “We strongly condemn those responsible for this disgusting racism.“As soon as we were made aware of the racist abuse Jess received, we immediately contacted UK police. They are in touch with the relevant social media platform, and we are 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.“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.”