England players and subs stand in support of Carter

After the Lionesses decided to stop kneeling, England’s players stood before the Euro 2025 semi-final against Italy started on Tuesday.

Before kick-off, the substitutes sat side by side to show their support for teammate Jess Carter, who has been the subject of racist abuse online since the tournament started.

Their Italian counterparts did not join them.

When questioned about whether Italy would gesture during the game, defender Cecilia Salvai responded that they were “open and willing to do anything necessary.”

In the 16th minute, sections of the Stade de Geneve crowd sang Carter’s song and applauded the defender, whose squad number is 16, in support of the defender.

After Carter revealed she had been racially abused on social media throughout the tournament, the England players announced on Sunday that they would no longer kneel before the start of matches.

Fare, the head of football’s global anti-discrimination body, questioned the decision.

The Lionesses used the anti-racism gesture, which Colin Kaepernick popularized in 2016, during Euro 2022 and the 2023 Women’s World Cup, but added in a statement that it is “clear we and football need to find another way to combat racism.”

England manager Sarina Wiegman said to BBC Sport’s Dan Roan on Monday, “It’s not enough. I’m taking the knee.” That has been done for some time. The impact is insufficient, and it is not as significant as we anticipate.

We felt like we needed to do something else, something different, because of this racism, so we aren’t kneeling.

Wiegman stated that Carter “wants to play and is available,” but Gotham FC defender Esme Morgan and captain Leah Williamson are the only substitutes.

Former England striker Ian Wright said before the game that while he would kneel if he were still playing, that the action was “personal,” and that the gesture was “always forced on people.”