Jess Carter withdraws from social media due to racial abuse at Euro 2025

According to her Instagram statement, England defender Jess Carter has announced her withdrawal from social media after receiving racial abuse during Euro 2025.

The 27-year-old player — who has appeared in all of England’s matches in this tournament — emphasized that performance criticism is normal, but racial attacks are unacceptable.

The Lionesses team has shown full support for their teammate and decided to stop taking the knee before matches. “It is clear we and football need to find another way to tackle racism,” the team statement reads.

“I hope speaking out about this will make the people writing this abuse think twice so that others won’t have to deal with it,” Carter stated in her announcement.

FA CEO Mark Bullingham confirmed they have contacted UK police to prosecute the perpetrators. Support has poured in from various parties including UEFA, UK Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer, and Carter’s club — Gotham FC.