England's Jess Carter reveals racial abuse at Euro 2025, FA has contacted police

ZURICH (AP) — England defender Jess Carter says she has been subject to racial abuse online at the Women’s European Championship.

Carter came in for a lot of criticism for her performance during England’s opening loss to France. And some of that has crossed the line even as the 27-year-old and the Lionesses have reached the semifinals at Euro 2025.

“From the start of the tournament I have experienced a lot of racial abuse,” Carter wrote in an emotional post on Instagram on Sunday. “Whilst I feel every fan is entitled to their opinion on performance and result I don’t agree or think it’s ok to target someone’s appearance or race.”

Carter has made 49 appearances for England and was part of the victorious Euro 2022 squad as well as an integral part of the team that finished runner-up to Spain at the World Cup the following year.

She says she will be taking a step back from social media.

“As ever I am grateful for all of the support from the genuine fans but I am taking this measure to protect myself in a bid to keep my focus on helping the team anyway I can,” Carted added.

The Football Association has contacted police back in the United Kingdom.

“Our priority is Jess and giving her all the support she needs,” FA CEO Mark Bullingham said. “We strongly condemn those responsible for this disgusting racism.

“As soon as we were made aware of the racist abuse Jess received, we immediately contacted UK police. They are in touch with the relevant social media platform, and we are working with police to ensure those responsible for this hate crime are brought to justice.”

Bullingham added that the FA had measures in place to respond quickly as “regrettably, this is not the first time this has happened to an England player.”

Carter’s teammates immediately responded to her Instagram post with messages of support.

The Lionesses also issued a joint statement condemning the “online poison” and announcing that they will no longer perform the anti-racism stance of taking a knee before matches because “it is clear we and football need to find another way to tackle racism.”

England defender Lucy Bronze elaborated on the group's decision.

“I think it was just the fact that we feel as a collective, is the message as strong as it used to be? Is the message really hitting hard? Because to us it feels like it’s not if these things are still happening to our players in the biggest tournaments of their lives,” Bronze said.

“It’s about putting another statement out there to say it’s something that still is a problem, it’s something that still needs to be put right, more needs to be done in football, more needs to be done in society."

Carter plays her club soccer for Gotham FC in the United States, having joined from Chelsea a year ago.

“We are heartbroken and outraged by the racist abuse directed at Jess Carter. Jess is not only a world-class football player — she is a role model, a leader and a valued part of our Gotham FC family,” the New York area-based team said in a statement.

“At Gotham, we believe in a culture of mutual respect and remain committed to building a game — and a community — where everyone feels safe, respected and celebrated. There is no place for racism in our sport.”

England plays Italy in the semifinals on Tuesday in Geneva, after a dramatic comeback against Sweden last week saw the Lionesses win a chaotic penalty shootout. The other semifinal pits Spain against Germany on Wednesday.

“Hopefully speaking out will make the people writing this abuse think twice so that others won't have to deal with it,” Carter said. "We have made some historic changes with this Lionesses squad that I am so proud to be part of and my hope is that by speaking out about this it will make another positive change for all.

“I'm now looking forward and focusing on putting all my energy into helping my team.”

Euro 2025 has so far delighted spectators with exciting matches as well as the stunning scenery around Switzerland.

However, as the women's game continues to grow it is also attracting more online vitriol.

“The bigger this sport has got, it seems to be that more abuse has come as well, and I think especially in women’s football, the online abuse seems to be getting worse and worse,” Bronze said. “We see it more in the stadiums in men’s football and online, but I think with women’s football, there seems to be a real target online.

“I think, with online platforms, it’s something that we can make a change to … there is a way to make the change, there is a solution. I don’t have the answer to that solution because I’m not head of a social media platform, but I’m sure that there is one.”

AP soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccer

Sweden's Kosovare Asllani, right, and Johanna Rytting Kaneryd, center, celebrate beside England's Jess Carter, left, after Asllani scored the opening goal during the Women's Euro 2025 quarterfinals soccer match between Sweden and England at Stadion Letzigrund in Zurich, Switzerland, Thursday, July 17, 2025. (Ennio Leanza/Keystone via AP)

England's Jess Carter speaks to England head coach Sarina Wiegman during the Euro 2025, group D, soccer match between England and the Netherlands at Stadion Letzigrund in Zurich, Switzerland, Wednesday, July 9, 2025. (AP Photo/Alessandra Tarantino)

England's Jess Carter reacts after Sweden's Stina Blackstenius scored her sides second goal during the Women's Euro 2025 quarterfinals soccer match between Sweden and England at Stadion Letzigrund in Zurich, Switzerland, Thursday, July 17, 2025. (AP Photo/Martin Meissner)

England's Jess Carter vies for the ball with Sweden's Stina Blackstenius, background, during the Women's Euro 2025 quarterfinals soccer match between Sweden and England at Stadion Letzigrund in Zurich, Switzerland, Thursday, July 17, 2025. (AP Photo/Alessandra Tarantino)

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Tens of thousands of people marched in Minneapolis on Saturday to protest the fatal shooting of a woman by a federal immigration officer there and the shooting of two people in Portland, Oregon. Minnesota leaders urged demonstrators to remain peaceful.

The protest was one of hundreds planned for towns and cities across the country over the weekend. It came in a city on edge since the killing of Renee Good on Wednesday by an Immigration and Customs Enforcement officer.

“We’re all living in fear right now,” said Meghan Moore, a mother of two from Minneapolis who joined the protest. “ICE is creating an environment where nobody feels safe and that’s unacceptable.”

On Friday night, a protest outside a Minneapolis hotel that attracted about 1,000 people turned violent as demonstrators threw ice, snow and rocks at officers, Minneapolis Police Chief Brian O’Hara said. One officer suffered minor injuries after being struck with a piece of ice, O’Hara said. Twenty-nine people were cited and released, he said.

Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey stressed that while most protests have been peaceful, those who cause damage to property or put others in danger will be arrested. He faulted “agitators that are trying to rile up large crowds.”

“This is what Donald Trump wants,” Frey said of the president who has demanded massive immigration enforcement efforts in several U.S. cities. “He wants us to take the bait.”

Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz echoed the call for peace.

“Trump sent thousands of armed federal officers into our state, and it took just one day for them to kill someone,” Walz posted on social media. “Now he wants nothing more than to see chaos distract from that horrific action. Don’t give him what he wants.”

The U.S. Department of Homeland Security says its deployment of immigration officers in the Twin Cities is its biggest ever immigration enforcement operation. Trump's administration has said both shootings were acts of self-defense against drivers who “weaponized” their vehicles to attack officers.

Connor Maloney said he was attending the Minneapolis protest to support his community and because he's frustrated with the immigration crackdown.

“Almost daily I see them harassing people,” he said. “It’s just sickening that it’s happening in our community around us.”

He and other protesters, including children, braved subfreezing temperatures and a light dusting of snow, carrying handmade signs saying declaring, “De-ICE Minnesota!” and “ICE melts in Minnesota.”

They marched down a street that is home to restaurants and stores where various nationalities and cultures are celebrated in colorful murals.

Steven Eubanks, 51, said he felt compelled to attend a protest in Durham, North Carolina, because of the “horrifying” killing in Minneapolis.

“We can’t allow it,” Eubanks said. “We have to stand up.”

Indivisible, a social movement organization that formed to resist the Trump administration, said hundreds of protests were scheduled in Texas, Kansas, New Mexico, Ohio, Florida and other states.

In Minneapolis, a coalition of migrant rights groups organized the demonstration that began in a park about half a mile from the residential neighborhood where the 37-year-old Good was shot on Wednesday.

But the large protest apparently did not deter federal officers from operating in the city.

A couple of miles away, just as the demonstration began, an Associated Press photographer witnessed heavily armed officers — at least one in Border Patrol uniform — approach a person who had been following them. Two of the agents had long guns out when they ordered the person to stop following them, telling him it was his “first and final warning.”

The agents eventually drove onto the interstate without detaining the driver.

Protests held in the neighborhood have been largely peaceful, and in general there has been minimal law enforcement presence, in contrast to the violence that hit Minneapolis in the aftermath of the killing of George Floyd in 2020. Near the airport, some confrontations erupted on Thursday and Friday between smaller groups of protesters and officers guarding the federal building used as a base for the Twin Cities crackdown.

O’Hara said city police officers have responded to calls about cars abandoned because their drivers have been apprehended by immigration enforcement. In one case, a car was left in park and a dog was left inside another.

He said immigration enforcement activities are happening “all over the city” and that 911 callers have been alerting authorities to ICE activity, arrests and abandoned vehicles.

The Trump administration has deployed thousands of federal officers to Minnesota under a sweeping new crackdown tied in part to allegations of fraud involving Somali residents. More than 2,000 officers were taking part.

Three congresswomen from Minnesota attempted to tour the ICE facility in the Minneapolis federal building on in the morning and were initially allowed to enter but then told they had to leave about 10 minutes later.

U.S, Reps. Ilhan Omar, Kelly Morrison and Angie Craig accused ICE agents of obstructing members of Congress from fulfilling their duty to oversee operations there.

A federal judge last month temporarily blocked the Trump administration from enforcing policies that limit congressional visits to immigration facilities. The ruling stems from a lawsuit filed by 12 members of Congress who sued in Washington, D.C. to challenge ICE’s amended visitor policies after they were denied entry to detention facilities.

This story has updated to correct that the people shot in Portland were not protesters.

Associated Press writers Allen Breed in Durham, North Carolina, and Scott Bauer in Madison, Wisconsin, contributed.

Protesters gather during a rally for Renee Good, who was fatally shot by an ICE officer earlier in the week, Saturday, Jan. 10, 2026, in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/John Locher)

People place flowers for a memorial at the site where Renee Good was fatally shot by an ICE agent in Minneapolis, Saturday, Jan. 10, 2026. (AP Photo/Jen Golbeck)

Protesters gather during a rally for Renee Good, who was fatally shot by an ICE officer earlier in the week, Friday, Jan. 10, 2026, in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/Jen Golbeck)

Protesters gather during a rally for Renee Good, who was fatally shot by an ICE officer earlier in the week, Saturday, Jan. 10, 2026, in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/John Locher)

Demonstrators protest outside the White House in Washington, Saturday, Jan. 10, 2026, against the Immigration and Customs Enforcement agent who fatally shot Renee Good in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/Jose Luis Magana)

Demonstrators march outside the White House in Washington, Saturday, Jan. 10, 2026, against the Immigration and Customs Enforcement agent who fatally shot Renee Good in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/Jose Luis Magana)

Demonstrators march outside the White House in Washington, Saturday, Jan. 10, 2026, against the Immigration and Customs Enforcement agent who fatally shot Renee Good in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/Jose Luis Magana)

Rep. Kelly Morrison D-Minn., center, Rep. Ilhan Omar, D-Minn., second from the right, and Rep. Angie Craig, D-Minn., far right, at the Bishop Whipple Federal Building, Saturday, Jan. 10, 2026, in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/Adam Gray)

Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey holds a news conference as Police Chief Brian O'Hara listens, on Saturday, Jan. 10, 2026, in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/Jen Golbeck)

Protesters gather during a rally for Renee Good, who was fatally shot by an ICE officer earlier in the week, Saturday, Jan. 10, 2026, in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/Adam Gray)

Federal agents stand outside the Bishop Henry Whipple Federal Building as protesters gather in Minneapolis, Saturday, Jan. 10, 2026. (AP Photo/Adam Gray)

Federal agents stand outside the Bishop Henry Whipple Federal Building as protesters gather in Minneapolis, Saturday, Jan. 10, 2026. (AP Photo/Adam Gray)

Protesters gather during a rally for Renee Good, who was fatally shot by an ICE officer earlier in the week, Saturday, Jan. 10, 2026, in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/Adam Gray)

Federal agents look on as protesters gather during a rally for Renee Good, who was fatally shot by an ICE officer earlier in the week, Saturday, Jan. 10, 2026, in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/Adam Gray)

A woman holds a sign for Renee Good, who was fatally shot by an ICE officer in Minneapolis earlier in the week, as people gather outside the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement facility Friday, Jan. 9, 2026, in Portland, Ore. (AP Photo/Jenny Kane)

Two people sit in the street with their hands up in front of Minnesota State Patrol during a protest and noise demonstration calling for an end to federal immigration enforcement operations in the city, Friday, Jan. 9, 2026, in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/John Locher)

Minnesota State Patrol officers are seen during a protest and noise demonstration calling for an end to federal immigration enforcement operations in the city, Friday, Jan. 9, 2026, in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/John Locher)

Minnesota State Patrol officers are seen during a protest and noise demonstration calling for an end to federal immigration enforcement operations in the city, Friday, Jan. 9, 2026, in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/John Locher)

Two people sit in the street holding hands in front of Minnesota State Patrol during a protest and noise demonstration calling for an end to federal immigration enforcement operations in the city, Friday, Jan. 9, 2026, in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/John Locher)