Carter overwhelmed with emotion after crowd support as she lauds ‘Incredible crowd love’ while playing the semis.
Defender Jess Carter claims that after experiencing racial taunts, the encouragement from supporters during England’s victory over Italy in the Euro 2025 semi-final “meant everything” and gave her the courage to play.
With a 2-1 victory in extra time in Geneva, the Lionesses secured their place in a Euros final for the second time in a row.
It happened just two days after Carter declared she would step back from social media due to racial abuse she had received online since the competition started in Switzerland.
Before Tuesday’s kickoff against Italy, the England players stood still, declaring they would no again take the knee before games. In a gesture of solidarity, Carter and other substitutes stood on the touchline with their arms interlocked.
Throughout the game, Carter’s name was sung by England fans at the Stade de Geneve, and they cheered in the 16th minute in reference to her squad number.
As the reigning champions held out for a comeback triumph, the 27-year-old Gotham FC defender was greeted with a roar of applause as she entered as a substitute late in extra time.
“It meant everything,” Carter told BBC Sport of the crowd’s response.
“Without that I wouldn’t have felt the confidence to come out on to the pitch, whether for the last three minutes or not.
“I’m not sure I would have had the courage to be available to support my team. They’ve allowed me to do that, so I can’t be more grateful to everyone who has shown support.
“I’m super grateful to them. I hope they bring that energy for every single minute of every single game for every single one of our players because they were loud and amazing.
“The love I felt was incredible, so thank you so much.”