Explained: Why England will not take a knee before Euros semi-final after racial abuse of Jess Carter

New York Times

5 days ago

This is an updated version of an article originally published on July 17.
England players past and present have said not enough is being done to address racism in football.
On Sunday, England announced they will not take the knee before their European Championship semi-final against Italy on Tuesday after defender Jess Carter spoke out about the online racist abuse she has been subjected to during the tournament.
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The 27-year-old posted on Instagram on Sunday: '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.'
England, who have taken the knee before all their games at these Euros as a gesture protesting systematic racism and police brutality towards Black people, will now not do so on Tuesday in solidarity with Carter's experience. The FA said before the tournament the decision to take the knee in Switzerland was 'player-led but with the full support from the FA'.
Carter's words, as well as her confirmation she would be stepping back from using social media, were supported by her team-mates, the England head coach Sarina Wiegman, European football's governing body UEFA, as well as British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, the National Women's Soccer League and Gotham, Carter's club team. The Football Association (FA) also confirmed it had contacted UK police and social media platforms.
'We play football because we love the sport; we love playing,' England defender Lucy Bronze said at a press conference on Sunday. 'We do love connecting with our fans, social media is a great way to do that, but we don't need it. I think that's something that the platforms should be very aware of; nobody needs social media if you want to carry on in sport.
'It is sad that players are missing out on so many of these great messages. Someone like Jess, she's had an amazing tournament. I think she was one of our best players in the Netherlands game. She should be able to see messages from fans…
'It is sad that players are having to choose between this rollercoaster that social media sends us on.'
England's players have decided that the message from kneeling is not being heard and that more needs to be done.
Former England international Anita Asante shared a post supporting Carter, saying that it should not fall on Black and Brown people to answer the problem of racism. She said, 'Nothing will be done until it hits the powers that govern the game financially.'
Enough is enough. pic.twitter.com/wjox7mq3AB
— Anita Asante (@NicenNeetz) July 20, 2025
FIFA president Gianni Infantino posted a message to his Instagram on Sunday: '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 also mentioned FIFA's Social Media Protection Service, aimed at using AI technology to help players avoid abuse online through a multistep process.
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'We will continue to collaborate and support confederations, FIFA Member Associations and their players,' Infantino said. '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.'
Reiterating the England squad's desire to see more done to tackle racist abuse, Bronze said: 'There are small changes. You see people being held accountable, whether that's online, in stadiums. You do see bans happening. It's just not enough,' Bronze said.
'That's the point. Not enough is being done. There are small changes being made. If you look back 100 years to 50 years to 20 years to 10 years, there's always small steps forward, but that's the problem.
'It's always a small step. We don't want it to be small steps anymore.'
Here, The Athletic explains what taking the knee means, the history behind it, and why Carter's experience has led to her England team-mates deciding not to do so on Tuesday.
On Sunday, the England defender posted the following statement on Instagram.
'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 anyway 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.'
Following Carter's statement on Sunday, Bronze spoke to journalists in a press conference while the Lionesses released a statement explaining that they would remain standing and not take the knee before the semi-final against Italy on Tuesday.
'We feel as a collective, is the message as strong as it used to be?' Bronze said. 'Is the message really hitting hard? Because it feels like it's not if these things are still happening… more needs to be done in football and society.'
Bronze added: 'We want it to be: 'this is happening, there is change, and this is unacceptable'. There are no more small steps.'
'It is clear we and football need to find another way to tackle racism,' a statement from the Lionesses squad read. 'No one should have to endure such vile abuse, be that in football or any walk of life. Those behind this online poison must be held accountable.'
Posting on X after the statement from Carter, Asante, who won 71 caps for England, spoke about being asked for interviews on the subject. 'I've spoken so many times publicly on this and nothing changes,' she said.
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'I always get asked: 'how can we solve racism?' but as Black and Brown people, we don't have the access to the levers of power and therefore we don't have the ability to dismantle the structures that uphold racism.
'Racism existed before social media and it will exist after it. It's in the stands, it's in the game & until action is taken seriously it's left to players and people in football, both on and off the pitch, to protect themselves.
'But let me be clear, the truth is that nothing will be done until it hits the powers that govern the game financially.
'I'm proud to be Black and l've had immense pride and privilege to represent England but how much more racist abuse do we have to take before serious action is taken? It goes without saying that I am sending all my support and love to Jess today. I stand with you, the team and others as always.'
British Prime Minister Starmer said: 'There is no place for racism in football or anywhere in society. I stand with Jess, the Lionesses, and any players who have suffered racism, on and off the pitch.'
Anti-discrimination group Kick It Out said it stands with Carter against'sickening behaviour' and, in a statement, pointed to social media companies needing to do more to combat racist abuse.
'Social media companies have failed to prevent exposure to this toxicity, and football must continue to use its collective power to hold them to account … More urgency is needed from everyone involved.'
Taking the knee is a gesture designed to protest against systematic racism and police brutality towards Black people, and was popularised in football in 2020 following the killing of George Floyd, an unarmed Black man, by a white police officer in the United States in May of that year.
Taking the knee in sport can be traced back to American football quarterback Colin Kaepernick, who did it during the traditional performance of the U.S. national anthem before an NFL game — players and coaches on the two teams usually line up to attention along opposite sides of the field for this — when with the San Francisco 49ers in September 2016.
After remaining seated on the 49ers' bench during the anthem at a game the previous month, Kaepernick had explained: 'I am not going to stand up to show pride in a flag for a country that oppresses Black people and people of colour.'
The FA said the team's choice to take the knee had been communicated to UEFA, European football's governing body and the organisation that runs the tournament. 'It's been something the team have done for several years,' the FA added.
Premier League players took the knee following football's return from three months of covid-enforced lockdown in June 2020 and Women's Super League (WSL) teams then did the same during that competition's 2020-21 season. While the Premier League announced in August 2022 that players would stop kneeling before every match and instead 'select significant moments' to do so, WSL sides have continued the practice. It is often greeted by applause from supporters in the stands.
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England's men's side took the knee before all their matches at the delayed 2020 European Championship. This was both applauded and booed by sections of the England fanbase, while several prominent MPs from the then-ruling Conservative Party voiced their opposition to it, including the home secretary at that time, Priti Patel.
Team GB's women's football team, whose squad consisted solely of England players, confirmed their intention to perform the gesture at the similarly-delayed 2020 Olympic Games hosted by Tokyo, Japan that same summer.
Explaining the decision, head coach Hege Riise said: 'The players and staff have been taking the knee at club and international level for over a year now, and we were all united in our decision to continue doing whatever we can to raise awareness of racism and discrimination in all its forms, standing in unity and solidarity with all those whose lives are affected.
'We are clear that taking the knee is an important symbol of peaceful protest against discrimination, injustice and inequality.'
England's women have continued to take the knee since, including at the 2022 European Championship and the following year's World Cup.
Taking the knee was seen frequently at the Euros in England three years ago, with teams including the Netherlands, Switzerland, Sweden and Austria all doing it too. Germany and England both took the knee before facing one another in the final at Wembley.
This summer, France, the Netherlands and Wales all joined opponents England in taking the knee in those three group-stage matches. However, these sides did not do it in their other Group D fixtures against one another. Sweden also took the knee before playing England in their quarter-final last week.
Both host nation Switzerland and opponents Iceland took the knee before their Group A fixture on July 6, but it has not been commonplace at matches during the tournament.
Teams must let UEFA know beforehand if they intend to take the knee and it is then incorporated into the 'running order' for the match, the governing body says.
The history of English women's football in terms of racial issues is a complex one.
In 2017, the FA apologised to forward Eni Aluko and midfielder Drew Spence after Mark Sampson, manager of the women's national team between 2013 and 2017, was found to have made racially discriminatory remarks towards the two Black players in two separate incidents.
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A number of England players voiced their support for Sampson before his dismissal, with members of the team running to the touchline to celebrate a goal by Nikita Parris against Russia with him in September 2017 amid the allegations. Parris, who is also Black, publicly apologised to Aluko in 2020.
Women's football in England has also been criticised for its lack of diversity, particularly over the past decade. There were six Black and mixed-race players called up for the 2007 World Cup by the team's Black manager Hope Powell, but just three in the 2022 European Championship-winning squad, by which time current boss Sarina Wiegman was in charge. Four players selected by Wiegman for this tournament are Black or mixed race — Khiara Keating, Carter, Lauren James and Michelle Agyemang.
A lack of diversity is something the team themselves have acknowledged.
'Within the squad, this is an important issue and we're all aware of it,' England captain Leah Williamson told BBC Sport in 2022. 'There's nothing that we can do right now to change it.'
She added: 'We want to make it as inclusive as possible. We don't ever want anybody to think it's not their game because of the way they look or the colour of their skin.'
Defender Lotte Wubben-Moy also told the BBC: 'I'm not going to sit here and say I feel any hardship. I'm White. I have such a massive privilege and I acknowledge that, which is part of the reason why I feel like I have such a responsibility also to push for more change to allow young, Black, Asian; any child to be able to see someone like them playing football.'
(Top photos: Getty Images)