Soccer-FIFA's Infantino offers support after England's Carter suffers racist abuse
ZURICH (Reuters) -FIFA President Gianni Infantino offered the governing body's support to England defender Jess Carter after she revealed she has been the target of racist abuse during Euro 2025.
Carter, who is Black, on Sunday announced she is stepping away from social media for the duration of the tournament.
The 27-year-old has started all four of England's games at the tournament, but struggled in their quarter-final win over Sweden on Thursday as the Lionesses conceded two first-half goals.
Football Association CEO Mark Bullingham condemned the abuse, and said the FA has been in contact with UK police, who are in touch with the relevant social media platform, to "ensure those responsible for this hate crime are brought to justice."
"We stand with Jess. We stand with every player and every individual who has suffered from racist abuse. No player should be discriminated against in any way, they should be free to be at their very best on the pitch," Infantino said in a statement.
"In this instance, we will be offering our support with any further action required, as well as sharing data for appropriate action to be taken against any perpetrators."
European soccer's governing body UEFA, Carter's club Gotham FC, the National Women's Soccer League, and the Lionesses all also posted statements in support of the player.
Carter's teammate Lotte Wubben-Moy said in an Instagram post that she planned to come off social media as well.
(Reporting by Lori Ewing; additional reporting by Aadi Nair in Bengaluru; Editing by Christian Schmollinger)
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