A man has been arrested by the police in connection with online abuse directed at England defender Jess Carter during this summer’s Women’s European Championship.
Lancashire Police arrested a 59-year-old man in Great Harwood on Thursday morning, on suspicion of malicious communications related to some of the messages.
According to a police statement, the man was released under investigation while inquiries continue.
The messages directed at Jess Carter were terrible and I would like to commend her for facing this abuse and assisting in our investigation.
Mark Roberts, Chief Constable of Cheshire Constabulary, National Police Chiefs’ Council (NPCC)
Roberts added that he expects this arrest to be the first of many in the coming months. He also emphasized that racist abuse of this nature will not be tolerated.Jess Carter sufrió abuso racista durante la Eurocopa 2025.Police officer Dan Fish, from Lancashire Police, stated that Lancashire Police does not tolerate hate in any form, either in person or online. He hopes that this arrest will send a clear message that Lancashire Police will spare no effort to identify those who engage in this unacceptable behavior, no matter how long it takes.
Last month, Carter revealed that he had been the subject of “a lot of abuse” during the tournament.
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The Football Association’s chief executive, Mark Bullingham, said at the time that the governing body had immediately contacted UK police when it learned of the abuse. Bullingham vowed to ensure that “those responsible for this hate crime are brought to justice”.
Carter told ITV News earlier this month that the psychological impact of the abuse she suffered made her feel “scared” when England coach Sarina Wiegman told her she had been selected to play in the Euro final, which England won on penalties against Spain to retain the title.
“That’s the first time I’ve been scared; too scared to play,” he said.
“I think it was a mixture of such an important match, but on top of that, [I was] afraid of any abuse that might come with it, whether based on football or the racial abuse that was going to come with it because I did something wrong.
“[The abuse] makes you feel very small. It makes you feel that you are not important, that you are not valuable.”
“It makes you doubt everything you do, it’s not a good place to be. It doesn’t make me feel safe going back to the field. My family was also very devastated by that and very sad.”
