ZURICH -- Lucy Bronze said the Lionesses are "sad" and "angry" at the racist abuse Jess Carter has been subjected to and hopes their decision to no longer take the knee before matches will reach "around the world."
England defender Carter said on Sunday that she would be stepping back from social media due to the racist abuse she's been subjected to during Euro 2025. The Football Association CEO Mark Bullingham has condemned the abuse and says the FA has referred this to the UK police for further action.
"I think to be honest a lot of players have known that this has always been an issue in football but for Jess especially to [talk about it] ... we all know her as a person and she's so strong and so tenacious, so she almost doesn't want to put out anything she's going through on someone else," Bronze said. "To hear her talking about it yesterday, we're all just so disappointed in so-called fans writing out these messages.
"For Jess herself, she probably wouldn't put it out to the world but it's obviously difficult for her to go through. All the players, the FA and the staff are here to support her. We had meetings last night about it and we're all in full support for Jess and for any players going through racial abuse in this tournament. We know it's not just Jess as well. It's just disappointing we still must sit here in this day and age, and to see Jess go through that herself."
Bronze said the team met as a group on Saturday night and Sunday morning to discuss what collective action they would take. They previously sent the anti-racism message of taking the knee before matches, but will instead stand now. In the statement they said they made this call because it is "clear we and football need to find another way to tackle racism."
"It was driven by the group -- obviously certain individuals more than others," Bronze said. "I think it was just the fact that we feel as a collective, is the message [of taking the knee] 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.
"It's about putting another statement out there to say, you know, it's something that still is a problem, it's something that still needs to be put right. This is a small step trying to create another change.
"We know the people higher up are the ones who can make change. We know we're never helpless as players and our voices can be heard around the world. I think that's something we're very proud of as a Lionesses team and we're willing to use that platform to make differences. The sentiment of taking a knee and standing, I think that noise will be reached around the world."
Bronze said the team have been left sad and angry by what Carter has been through. "I think we all know that any player of colour who has played for England has gone through racist abuse. It's a sad fact," Bronze said. "There was a lot of anger that we're having to go through this. It's anger and sadness that our teammates are going through this. We don't want this to happen. We want Jess and anyone else who puts on an England shirt to be brave. There was a lot of sadness and definitely a lot of anger as well.
"We're open to critics but we're not open to abuse. The bigger the sport has come, the more abuse that has come. Specifically in women's football the online abuse is getting worse. There seems to be a real target online and it's something we're very aware of. There is a way to make a change and there is a solution. I don't have an answer to that but I'm sure there is one."
And Bronze has called on social media companies to take more action to prevent racist abuse. "Yeah I mean the social media platforms need to be held accountable more so," she said. "We know millions of people are interacting daily. There can be more that can be done. People need to be held accountable -- whether that's in person or online. Abuse is not OK. Racism is not OK. More can be done and more should be done. Individuals shouldn't be allowed to just sit at home and go on with their lives. I think more can be done."