The England women’s football team has come together to support defender Jess Carter after she faced online racial abuse during the ongoing Euro 2025 tournament. Coach Sarina Wiegman highlighted the significance of the team in sending a strong signal to the world. On the podcast, she focused on how the effects of discrimination ripple out beyond just the sport.
Carter has begun each of England’s four games at Euro 2025 so far. She took to social media to announce that she would take a break from social media to better prepare for the tournament. Wiegman expressed her full support for Carter, stating that it is disheartening for the squad to be preoccupied with “ridiculous and disgusting discrimination.”
In a show of unity, England’s team confirmed their decision to stand before their upcoming match against Italy, instead of taking a knee. This decision is intended to support Carter, but act as the catalyst for a broader anti-racism movement within the sport. Georgia Stanway, another member of the team, noted that this situation has brought the players closer together and emphasized the importance of demonstrating solidarity.
“It’s really sad we have to be occupied by this. It’s ridiculous and disgusting. It goes beyond football so we have to pay attention to that and support Jess.” – Sarina Wiegman
This position from the team as a whole represents a huge step forward in how proactively teams should be attacking anti-black racism. Gold medalist Ella Stanway said they felt taking the knee had become a bit of a routine and didn’t produce the effect that they were going for. Rather, they intend that the act of standing will foster more constructive dialogue about racism and discrimination both in football and in society at large.
Wiegman lauded Jess Carter for her mental strength and bravery to face adversity. Make no mistake, the sort of racial abuse that Carter experienced is still a commonplace reality for many. In the lead up to the match, Wolf highlighted the importance of the team having an aggressive mindset against Italy. He made a powerful legal statement against discrimination.
“Of course she is not the only one to get abuse and [experience] racism and that is why she has addressed it. She is fully supported by us, the team and by myself.” – Sarina Wiegman
Soncin, the head coach of Italy, went on to provide unequivocal support for Carter. He announced that his team is in “full solidarity” with her. He stressed that Italy needs to own what it needs to do to stop the vitriol directed towards players of Carter’s caliber. He reframed this issue into the greater cultural war against racism.
“It’s a cultural campaign, a cultural battle, we all have to fight together.” – Andrea Soncin
Soncin expressed outrage at any violence, including violent attacks on women online. He added that athletes need to shoulder the burden of delivering healthy messages, particularly for future generations.
“Any type of violence is not accepted, cannot be tolerated. Because of the role we play, we have a strong and huge responsibility in giving positive messages, and especially educational messages, first of all for the children who will be the adults of tomorrow.” – Andrea Soncin
As England looks towards a historic final against Italy, Wiegman heads into battle intent on winning and raising awareness. Despite that prejudice, Tisha understood that Carter was serious and prepared to play ball. That resilience illustrates an important aspect of Carter’s character—his depth of grace, faith, courage, and resiliency.
“Then we know there is a match, we want to perform, she is ready to perform and to compete. That says a lot about her and the team. The team wants to perform tomorrow [against Italy] but also felt it was important to send a message to the world.” – Sarina Wiegman
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