Lucy Bronze says society must find a solution to stop racial abuse in football, following teammate Jess Carter’s statement.
Carter took to social media on Sunday July 20 to condemn the racial abuse she has received online during Euro 2025.
“From the start of the tournament I have experienced a lot of racial abuse,” Carter wrote. “Whilst I feel every fan is entitled to their own opinion on performance and result, I don’t agree or think it’s ok to target someone’s appearance or race.”
England teammate Lucy Bronze spoke to the media following the statement, to express her support for Carter and the wider community who are having to endure this horrible racism.
“A lot of players have known that this has always been an issue in football,” said Bronze. “But for Jess especially to come out, we all know her as a person and she’s so strong and so tenacious so she almost doesn’t want to put out anything she’s going through on someone else.
“To hear her talking about it yesterday, we’re all just so disappointed in so-called fans writing out these messages. For Jess herself, she probably wouldn’t put it out to the world but it’s obviously difficult for her to go through.
“The bigger the game gets, the bigger the noise becomes, the more fans there are, but the more critics there are. We’re obviously open to critics, that’s why we love the sport, but we’re not open to abuse. Especially in women’s football, the online abuse seems to be getting worse and worse.
“We see it more in the stadiums in men’s football and online, but I think with women’s football there seems to be a real target online. It’s something that we’re very aware of. There is a way to make a change. There is a solution. I don’t have the answer, but I’m sure that there is one.”
England and the FA have expressed their support for Carter, noting that they are working with the UK police to find those responsible.
“All the players, the FA and the staff are here to support her. We had meetings last night about it and we’re all in full support of Jess and for any players going through racial abuse in this tournament.
“We know it’s not just Jess as well. It’s just disappointing we still have to sit here in this day and age, and to see Jess go through that herself.”
