England 'will not take the knee' as police called over racist abuse of Jess Carter during Euros 2025

A statement from the Lioness squad on Sunday said that the Football Association is working with British police and other "appropriate bodies" in response to racist abuse targeted at England defender Jess Carter.

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. The Lionesses said on Sunday that they will not take the knee as an anti-racism gesture before kick-off at the semi-final match. They have until now taken the knee ahead of all of their games, but will remain standing on Tuesday.

A statement from the Lionesses said the decision had been made as "It is clear we and football need to find another way to tackle racism."

The statement also read that the England Women's team expressed solidarity with Ms Carter and "all Lionesses players past and present who have suffered racism."

Writing on X, Prime Minister Keir Starmer expressed his support for Ms Carter and the Lionesses and said: "There is no place for racism in football or anywhere in society."

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."

Ms Carter also plays as a defender for US National Women's Soccer League team Gotham FC. The club said in a statement on Sunday that it was "heartbroken" and "outraged" by the racist abuse targeted at the defender.

Taking the knee is a gesture popularised in football following the 2020 murder of the unarmed Black man George Floyd by a police officer in the United States.

The gesture is intended to protest against instances of racism and police brutality directed towards Black people.