Jess Carter on confronting racist abuse, team solidarity and her Euro triumph

Jess Carter has been named The Guardian’s Footballer of the Year after publicly confronting racist social-media abuse and going on to win a second European Championship with England and her first National Women’s Soccer League title. Carter says she has long wrestled with when to speak up, torn between being open and direct — traits her parents encouraged — and the pressure on black women to suppress those qualities to avoid negative stereotyping.

She was targeted with racist messages in her Instagram direct messages after England’s opening defeat by France. Normally she deletes DMs unread, but the abuse landed and, she says, “it just really devalues you”, weakening her confidence at a time when she was already struggling on the pitch.

The abuse left her anxious during the tournament; she remembers not wanting to go out between games and feeling the potential for abuse from anyone. After more messages following subsequent matches, her sister urged her to speak out. Carter reported and blocked the accounts and spoke with the England leadership and teammates.

The squad issued a collective message condemning the “online poison” and revealed they would stop taking the knee. A police investigation into messages sent to Carter led to a man being summonsed to appear in court on 9 January. Carter was dropped for the semi-final, a decision she says brought relief and reduced the stress she had been feeling.

Key Topics

Culture, Sports, Football, Racism, England, Jess Carter, Uefa Euros