New Delhi, July 21
FIFA president Gianni Infantino offered support to England women's defender Jess Carter, who has been targeted with racist abuse during Euro 2025, saying the global body for the sport "shared data for appropriate action to be taken against any perpetrators".
Carter, who has played for England since 2017 and was part of the team that won the Euro in 2022, earlier said that she is stepping away from social media for the duration of the tournament. "From the start of the tournament, I have experienced a lot of racial abuse... I don't agree, or think, it's OK to target someone's appearance or race. As a result of this, I will be taking a step back from social media and leaving it to a team to deal with," she had said.
The Football Association CEO Mark Bullingham had strongly condemned those responsible for racism and said the FA "is in touch with the relevant social media platform and is working with police to ensure those responsible for this hate crime are brought to justice."
Reacting to the matter, FIFA chief said, "I am deeply saddened to see the online abuse directed at England's Jess Carter during the ongoing Women's EURO tournament. There is no place for racism in football or in society."
"We stand with Jess. We stand with every player and every individual who has suffered from racist abuse. No player should be discriminated against in any way, they should be free to be at their very best on the pitch."
"Through FIFA's Social Media Protection Service, we have helped tackle such abuse across multiple tournaments. We will continue to collaborate and support confederations, FIFA Member Associations and their players."
"In this instance, we will be offering our support with any further action required, as well as sharing data for appropriate action to be taken against any perpetrators," Infantino added in a statement.
— IANS
Reader Comments
Why are people still racist in 2024? 🤦â€â™‚ï¸ Football is about skill and teamwork, not skin color. Good that Infantino is taking this seriously. Hope the culprits are punished severely.
While I appreciate FIFA's response, they need to do more than just statements. Social media platforms must verify identities so racists can't hide behind anonymous accounts. Action speaks louder than words!
As an expat living in India, I've seen how sports unite people across cultures here. It's heartbreaking that some fans still spread hate. More education needed at grassroots level worldwide.
Respect to Jess for speaking up! In India we face similar issues with online abuse. Maybe FIFA can learn from BCCI's strict social media policies for players' protection.
This makes me so angry 😠Women athletes already face so much discrimination, now racism too? FIFA should implement lifetime bans from stadiums for anyone caught doing this. Enough is enough!
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