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Jess Carter feared Lioness teammate would face ‘astronomical’ abuse

Lucy Bronze offers full support to Jess Carter after racist abuse: 'The abuse is not okay. Racism is not okay'

Jess Carter admitted feeling relief when non-Black England teammates also missed penalties in the Euro 2025 quarter-final shootout, fearing Lauren James would face astronomical social media abuse if she had been the only one to miss.
Carter explained that the shared misses by Beth Mead, Alex Greenwood, and Grace Clinton alongside James helped to diffuse potential severe racial targeting.
Having personally experienced online racism during the tournament, Carter revealed the abuse made her feel scared to play in the final, fearing further racial or football-related backlash.
She described the psychological impact of the abuse as making her feel small, unimportant, and not valuable, which severely affected her confidence.
The Football Association's chief executive, Mark Bullingham, confirmed that the abhorrent abuse directed at players during the tournament was referred to UK police.