Carter feared James would face ‘astronomical’ racist abuse

Jess Carter feared team-mate Lauren James would suffer “astronomical” racist abuse if she had been the only England player to miss a penalty in the Euro 2025 quarter-final shootout against Sweden.

Chelsea forward James was the target of online racist abuse in 2021 when playing for Manchester United and again in 2023 when at Chelsea.

Carter was the target of online racism during the tournament, with the Football Association (FA) working with the police to try to identify those responsible.

James missed England’s second penalty in Zurich, but Beth Mead, Alex Greenwood and Grace Clinton – who are all white – went on to miss as well.

Despite those misses the Lionesses still managed to progress, before going on to beat Spain in the final in another penalty shootout.

Carter told ITN: “It’s horrible to say but it’s almost like a sigh of relief when other players that weren’t black missed a penalty, because the racism that would have come with LJ [Lauren James] being the only one that missed would have been astronomical.

Speaking about the impact the abuse had on her, Carter said: “It makes you feel really small. It makes you feel like you’re not important, that you’re not valuable.

“It makes you second guess everything that you do – it’s not a nice place to be. It doesn’t make me feel confident going back on to the pitch. My family was so devastated by it as well and so sad.”

FA chief executive Mark Bullingham said during the tournament that the governing body had referred the “abhorrent” abuse to UK police.

Carter stepped back from social media following the abuse, though she said the support received from the England fans “meant everything”.

The England team decided to stop taking the knee before matches, with manager Sarina Wiegman saying the impact of the anti-racism gesture was “not good enough”.

Carter said the psychological impact of the abuse she suffered made her feel “scared” when Wiegman told her she had been selected to play in the final.

“That’s the first time I’ve ever been scared – too scared to play,” she added.