On 15 July, England faced Sweden in the quarter-finals of the Women's Euros. It was always going to be a tough match, and it lived up to expectations. Both sides battled hard, with the game ending 2–2 after extra-time. What followed was an agonisingly long penalty shootout that saw the England Lionesses emerge victorious and book their place in the semi-final against Italy.
A good game? Possibly. A painful shootout? Definitely. But what truly matters isn’t the final scoreline or Carter’s penalty. It’s what happened after the final whistle – and why we’re here talking about it.
"Whilst every fan is entitled to their opinion on performance and result, I don't agree or think that it's ok to target someone's appearance or race [...]"
Yes. We are doing this.
You know how on those panel shows they’ll trot out someone to argue that 2+2 = 5 for the sake of “balance”? ("And now to debate the existence of the sun, here’s Nigel from Facebook.") That’s what we’re up against. But before we get to them, let’s talk about the “why”.
British-American Jess Carter hasn’t had the most glorious run of form of late. Since her move from Chelsea FC to Gotham FC in the US, performances have been, at best, inconsistent. Not shocking, not dreadful – just not standout. But she's hardly alone in that. Several of England's players have looked leggy, tactically out of step, or simply off the pace. That's sport. It happens.
But Jess Carter isn't white – and to a certain type of person, that makes all the difference.
From the very beginning of the tournament, racist abuse has been directed her way. Veiled at first, then more brazen. A toxic drip-feed of bile, some of which may very well have affected her on-pitch performance. The worse she played, the louder the trolls became – as if she were failing on purpose just to spite them.
That’s it. That’s the opposing viewpoint: “She’s not good enough because she’s Black.”
I scrolled through Twitter (and no, I’m not calling it X – I’ll die on that hill). By the time I got there, most of the worst stuff had been deleted – or perhaps buried – but enough remained to see the pattern. Racism couched in “football opinion.” Lines like “stop using the race card – she’s just shit”.
This isn’t criticism. This is cowardly, cloaked racism – and it’s as transparent as cling film in the rain.
Jess Carter is far from the first woman footballer to be subjected to this. She won’t be the last, either – and that’s the problem. This happens again and again, not just in women’s football but across all sports. The difference this time is that fans, governing bodies, clubs, and now even law enforcement have stepped in quickly. The abuse has been reported. Arrests may follow. Because – and let’s be absolutely clear here – racially abusing someone online is a crime, regardless of what country you’re in or what excuse you invent for it.
But we still have to ask: Why does this keep happening?
Criticise the player, by all means. Criticise the coach for their selection, the tactics, the substitutions, the kit if you really must. But what on God’s green Earth has skin colour got to do with any of it? If Carter were white, would she just be labelled “out of form”? Or, because she’s a woman, is it “she’s a useless bitch”? Is it really that impossible for people to say, “she played poorly,” without attaching identity-based hatred?
Before every match, the England Lionesses have taken the knee in solidarity against racism – a gesture that once made headlines but now feels like background noise. The team have now decided to stop doing it. Not because they don’t care – but because it’s clearly not working. Another approach is needed, one that hits home more than a symbolic kneel ever could. Because let’s face it: those who need the message never heard it in the first place.
It’s easy to blame social media for all this. Platforms like Twitter do enable it, with algorithms that prioritise engagement over ethics. But social media isn’t the disease – it’s just a very efficient carrier. The racism was there long before the apps.
Education is necessary, but that only works if the other person is willing to learn. Trying to debate racism with a bigot is like playing chess with a pigeon – they’ll knock over all the pieces, crap on the board, and still strut around like they’ve won.
So now, we wait. We hope that Jess Carter is receiving the care, support, and backing she needs – not just from her team but from the wider footballing family. We hope the law does what it’s supposed to do. And we hope – however naively – that someday football will be a place where “out of form” means just that, regardless of who you are or what you look like.
Because in sport, you should be judged by the game you play – not by the colour of your skin.
_(26).jpg)
