LIANNE SANDERSON: 'Vile abuse of Jess Carter no surprise after calls when I'm on radio'
Racism is something I live with every day. I didn't as a player because there wasn't social media, but I do now as a commentator.
Every time I go on TV I deliberately don't check my phone afterwards, because I know the racism emojis and comments will be there.
There are times I'll be on air at TalkSport and people will phone in. There is a pre-call before they are put through to me, and I see the light go red and it says 'racism'.
Obviously they get them off before they get through to me. It doesn't make me feel good, but I've become desensitised to it.
But someone like Jess Carter, right now preparing for the semi-final, she's not going to be in a good moment. She knows she's not having her best tournament, and on top of that she's getting racist abuse.
I feel for her, and all the players that this happens to. I stand with her, because I know how lonely she will be feeling.
You can criticise someone's performance, I don't mind that. Everyone has an opinion. But no-one should be racially abused, regardless of how badly they played, regardless of if they've done something in a game that isn't acceptable, that's not OK.
To subject someone to racism, homophobia, sexism, is just outright wrong.
A lot of players have started coming off social media in recent years because of the abuse they're getting. But we're all creatures of habit, every football checkers their phone after matches, because you want people's validation, you want to know if you had a good game or not.
Unfortunately it only really seems to hit home to people when you share what people actually say.
Because I get it every single day, whether it be monkey emojis, someone being horrible about my sexuality, something about my weight. It doesn't make me feel good. I've had two death threats.
But they're not going to stop me, they're not going to shut me up and I'm not going anywhere. You have to develop thick skin though. There have been times when it's left me in tears.
You're not going to stamp out racism completely, racist people are always going to exist in the world.
But there a lot of token gestures, anti-racism campaigns that don't have any backbone. Personally I see the same people 20 years later in the same room, sitting in the same seat, and nothing has changed. Those people are part of the problem as well.
They need to get serious about bringing change, and really stamping out racism and other forms of prejudice from football, with real action and putting people those positions who have walked a day in the life of.
The social media companies aren't doing enough. If I put a song up they'll take it down for copyright. If someone posts something racist to me, they'll say it's within the guidelines.
Some of the things you couldn't get more offensive if you tried, but there's always a generic response, almost like a robot. And nothing changes.
So there's so much more that needs to be done. Racism is still a daily reality. There are still homophobic chants being sang in the stands. We haven't come very far. It's the reality of the world right now unfortunately.
If I were Jess Carter right now, or any player in the tournament experiencing abuse, I would come off social media right now.
People might say, well if you do that then the racists are winning. But if you're in tears at night and if it's affecting your mental health, it's not about who's winning and who's losing.
It's about protecting your energy and your mental health, and not letting the racists beat you.
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BBC News
9 hours ago
- BBC News
Warwickshire towns proud of local Lionesses ahead of final
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The Independent
11 hours ago
- The Independent
Football has failed to tackle racism – but big tech can kick it out
When centre-back Jess Carter stepped onto the pitch at Euro 2025 with her England teammates, she wasn't just playing a game; she was carrying a generation's hopes. But what should have been a time of celebration quickly saw people flood her with racist abuse through social media. Last Sunday, Carter revealed she was stepping away from social media because she had received appalling comments from people cloaked in anonymity. Before Tuesday's match against Italy, the Lionesses stood together shoulder to shoulder, in an active gesture of solidarity to show that racism would not be tolerated – a gesture that is likely to be repeated in Sunday's final against Spain. Racism against footballers is a story we have seen play out far too many times in the decades that Black athletes have played for British clubs. And it's one we all have a responsibility to change. However, the social media platforms where this hate spreads are enabling it, and their leaders have a particular responsibility to bear. Their systems are designed to maximise long scroll times and to prioritise outraged reactions so that they can serve people more ads and make more money – all at the cost of our mental health. When posts that spark anger and division rise to the top, abuse becomes part of the business model. No one should have to endure this just for doing their job. It is possible to do social media better. In 2022, I founded WeAre8, a social network designed to fuel positive mental health at scale. From the beginning, we built a platform grounded in respect, community, and accountability. A powerful AI shield detects and blocks abuse in content and comments before it reaches people's feeds. We've made intentional design choices that protect our community: no anonymous posting, no hate-amplifying algorithms, and no tolerance for discrimination. It works. And it proves that a safer, more respectful internet is not only possible — it's already here. And it is inspiring. Positivity and unlocked algorithms are great entertainment; we just have not experienced this as a collective until now. The beautiful thing is that all the positives of real social connection are supercharged. And all we need is to stand together and choose the alternative. Nothing speaks louder to abusers than leaving the room, as we've seen with the exodus of users from Elon Musk's X to BlueSky. The FA has a long and proud history of supporting its players and leading change in football. But in a world where governments and the American Supreme Court cannot get Meta and Mark Zuckerberg to change, I am not sure that the FA can either. Meta has no interest in changing. The power, and in my opinion, the only thing that will work, is the collective voice of its users voting with their feet and changing the platforms they use. Football is about unity, passion, and pride. But we can't claim those values if we don't realise that our own actions matter. When faced with abuse, what do we do? Scroll through the comments like a bystander or leave the room in support of the person being abused? Jess Carter shouldn't have to be resilient in the face of racism. She should be protected from it. The truth is, we don't have to accept social media as it is. And you have the power to be part of a movement of people who changed the course of history and ended racism on social media. So to every football fan, every player and all institutions who love the game: draw a line. Stop feeding the systems that fuel and monetise abuse. Stand with your players not just in the stadium – but in every space they're seen and celebrated. Social media doesn't have to be a battleground. It can and should be a home. The choice is yours.
Sky News
20 hours ago
- Sky News
'No one should be subjected to racist abuse,' Meta tells Sky News - five days after England star Jess Carter quit social media
Instagram's owners have taken five days to respond publicly to racism suffered by England star Jess Carter - and to raise issues about a Sky News interview with the head of the Football Association about the abuse. While the FA and police had been in operational discussions with social media platforms, FA chief executive Mark Bullingham told Sky News on Thursday he had received no direct contact and said they had "avoided responsibility". In a statement breaking its silence, Meta told Sky News: "We're surprised to read these comments since we have been working directly with the FA and UEFA both before and during this tournament." 3:27 Carter went public on Sunday with the online hate she has been facing throughout England's defence of the European Championship title - removing herself from social media. Sky News immediately asked Instagram owner Meta for comment, with follow-ups including DMs to Instagram head Adam Mosseri. The response from Meta's Press Office only came late on Friday to ask us to update our coverage of Thursday's interview with Mr Bullingham "ASAP" as "it's really important in the lead up to Sunday's game that your readers know we're firmly taking action on this matter". We first asked Meta for comment before we aired an interview with Kick It Out chairman Sanjay Bhandari, who said social media companies have "actually gone backwards over the last four or five years, not forwards. It's got worse on social media, not better". There was no response at the time to explain what Meta was doing - only to counter comments from the FA at the end of the week. "No one should be subjected to racist abuse and we remove this content when we find it," Meta asked us to attribute to an unnamed spokesperson. "We're surprised to read these comments [from Mr Bullingham] since we have been working directly with the FA and UEFA both before and during this tournament. "We have proactively removed a number of violating comments and taken action against accounts which break our rules. "We've also developed several tools to help protect people from having to see abuse, including Hidden Words which filters offensive comments and DMs. "No one thing will stop racist behaviour overnight, but we'll continue working to protect our community from abuse and cooperate with police investigations." Two hours after sending that, there was no response to follow-up requests to discuss the issues raised.
