Anti-racism group questions England not taking knee

The head of football’s international anti-discrimination body, Fare, has questioned England’s decision to stop taking the knee before Euro 2025 matches after defender Jess Carter suffered racist abuse on social media.

On Sunday, the Lionesses said they would stop the anti-racism gesture as it was “clear we and football need to find another way to tackle racism”.

The Football Association (FA) is said to be fully supportive of the Lionesses’ decision, and shares the squad’s view that something else is now needed.

Fare’s executive director Piara Powar said it was time for regulator Ofcom to take action against social media platforms, but also expressed disappointment at England’s stance.

“The players have taken a decision to stop taking the knee, which is their right,” Powar told BBC Sport.

“I personally don’t see the link between the two. The taking of the knee is a powerful anti-racist act and this England team have shown leadership across Europe in taking it for so long.

“Powerful actions are needed right now, to deal with the issues that are being played out as we speak.”

In October 2023, the Online Safety Act became law dictating that social media platforms have a duty to protect users from content such as racism, death threats and calls for violence.

Powar says it is now time for Ofcom to take action.

“The racial abuse of Jess Carter highlights again how toxic some social media users are,” he said. “It also raises the question of the responsibility of the platforms to identify and remove harmful abuse such as racism.

“In this regard it is a very timely test for the Online Safety Act which seeks to protect users and regulate social media platforms.

“The act came into force in the autumn and Ofcom gained powers to enforce in March. There doesn’t seem to be any public information available on action taken against the platforms thus far.”

A spokesman for the United Kingdom Football Policing Unit (UKFPU) said it had received a complaint in relation to the racist abuse.

Meanwhile, Shaista Aziz, co-director of The Three Hijabis – an anti-racism campaign set up in response to racism against players in the men’s Euros final in 2021 – said the Lionesses’ decision was “powerful”.

“Taking the knee is a symbolic anti-racism act that was developed in the US and it has a very long legacy with the civil rights movement and everything else,” Aziz told BBC Radio 5 Live.

“I think what the Lionesses are doing now is taking this to another level where they are saying that the symbolism has been hijacked by those who want to sow further division and keep going on about so-called ‘woke’ culture in relation to the knee being taken by footballers. They are taking it back and claiming the symbolism back by saying that it is not working.

UK prime minister Sir Keir 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.”

Last month, the PM told the BBC the government will explore whether further protective measures can be put in place on social media platforms.

Sanjay Bhandari, chairman of anti-discrimination group Kick It Out, told Sky News “the social media companies need to do far more”.

“They’ve actually gone backwards over the last four or five years, not forwards. It’s got worse on social media, not better,” he said.

“And they need to provide us with the tools to help keep us safe and to remove some of this toxicity from the platforms. They’re just not doing enough.”

It has not been a smooth tournament for Carter, who has started every game in defence for England, switching from left-back to centre-back after a difficult experience in the opening-game defeat by France.

England’s defensive unit has been scrutinised for several months because of their inconsistency, and Carter also endured a tough time against Sweden in their quarter-final, which the Lionesses won on penalties after coming back from 2-0 down to draw 2-2.

She was sent racist abuse on social media following that game, but it is not something new to women’s football.

During the 2023 Women’s World Cup, forward Lauren James, now 23, suffered similar abuse when she was sent off for standing on the back of Nigeria forward Michelle Alozie in their last-16 victory.

James’ club Chelsea condemned further online abuse when she was again targeted following a Women’s Super League (WSL) defeat by Arsenal in December 2023.

The Lionesses have often aligned with each other in the face of such abuse, and it was a player-led decision for Carter, the FA and some of her team-mates to raise the matter again on Sunday.

Carter’s position in the team for Tuesday’s semi-final against Italy was not assured, with Esme Morgan pushing for a start after a good performance in the win over Sweden.