FIFA’s Infantino offers support to England’s Carter over racist abuse

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, 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 football’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.

FIFA and global players’ union FIFPRO reported that one in five players at the 2023 Women’s World Cup were targets of online abuse.

They found 152 players out of the 697 whose accounts were actively monitored through the Social Media Protection Service (SMPS) designed by FIFA and FIFPRO received targeted discriminatory, abusive or threatening messages.

Players at the women’s tournament were 29% more likely to be targeted for online abuse than players at the 2022 men’s World Cup.

The SMPS tool was launched at the 2022 World Cup to help moderate hate speech on social media and hide harmful content. It was made available to all 211 member associations and their teams last year.

England forward Lauren James has been the target for online abuse, and told reporters recently that “the abuse never really stops. I’m used to it now so I kind of just brush it off my shoulder”.

British tennis player Katie Boulter said last month that she had received death threats to herself and members of her family after matches.