Ian Wright reveals his stance on England’s decision to stop taking the knee after online abuse of Lionesses’ star Jess Carter

Ian Wright has revealed he would still consider taking the knee to support equality if he were still playing, after England’s women’s team decided to scrap the gesture following the racial abuse suffered by their team-mate Jess Carter. 

Carter, who played 70 minutes of England’s Euro 2025 quarter-final victory over Sweden, said she would be stepping away from social media after she received a ‘lot’ of online hate following the win.

The Lionesses later said they would no longer be taking the knee, as it was ‘clear we and football need to find another way to tackle racism’ and that they would instead aim to create a new statement that sparks ‘conversation and change’.

While Carter is available for England’s semi-final against Italy on Tuesday evening, the defender dropped to the bench in the only change to Sarina Wiegman’s team.

Speaking ahead of the match, former Arsenal and England forward Wright suggested players should be able to decide whether they personally take the knee.

Wright, who returned to ITV’s punditry line-up for the semi-final, suggested the gestured had previously been forced upon people but admitted he would have considered continuing the stance if he were still playing.

‘Firstly I think the decision to take the knee should have been a person thing, if you want to take it,’ Wright said.

‘I think it was always forced on people, for me, if I was playing now, for everything the knee represents, if we think of justice and equality of everything that goes with it, I think I would still take the knee. 

‘But in respects of Jess, the priority is she is ok and has the support around her but for me, I have said everything I can over the years in terms of racism and what it means and what it does and nothing gets any better. 

‘What I would say now is prepare your children, prepare your family, make them resilient because it is going to continue to come. 

‘People say that is negative, it isn’t they are winning and have been winning and will continue to win, I would urge people to build resilience against it. 

‘We can’t stop it, it is always going to happen.’

Taking the knee has been used since the Black Lives Matter movement came to prominence in 2020 to support football’s fight against racism. 

The gesture has been criticised as becoming a tokenistic exercise, designed to show that football cares about the issue without committing to change on a deeper level.

On Sunday, the Lionesses confirmed they would not take the knee, for the first time this tournament, in their semi-final against Italy on Tuesday night. 

In a statement, the Lionesses said: ‘We stand with Jess and all Lionesses players past and present who have suffered racism. No one should have to endure such vile abuse, be that in football or any walk of life.

‘Representing our country is the greatest honour. It is not right that while we are doing that some of us are treated differently simply because of the colour of our skin.

‘Until now we have chosen to take the knee before matches. It’s clear we and football need to find another way to tackle racism. We have agreed as a squad to remain standing before kick-off on Tuesday.

‘We hope the game can come together to see what more can be done. For now, we will return our total focus to an important semi-final.

‘In the meantime, we know the FA are working with UK police and the appropriate bodies. Those behind this online poison must be held accountable.’

Manager Sarina Wiegman said: ‘Although it is a hard situation, Jess is a very strong person and she wants to move on too. She also felt – as we did – that we had to address this.

‘You can’t just let it go, so we didn’t. And then we know that there’s a match going on. We’re ready to perform.’ 

Asked how it felt as a manager to deal with such a situation, Wiegman replied: ‘It’s really sad that we have to be occupied by this. It is ridiculous and disgusting what is happening and that goes beyond football.

‘Of course, she’s not the only one who gets this abuse or racism. That’s why she wanted to address it and she’s fully supported by the team.’

England midfielder Georgia Stanway added: ‘If anything it has probably brought us together as a team.

‘There’s some things that we will never be able to understand, and that’s one of those.

‘We need to cut it out of society and football. We don’t know the steps that it takes in order for that to happen, but right now all we can do is show our support, our togetherness, and we can be united in what we want to make sure is right.’

Lionesses stars Lucy Bronze and Alex Greenwood have questioned whether the message sent by taking the knee has ‘lost its power’.

While England have scrapped taking the knee, semi-final opponents Italy have suggested they could make a gesture in solidarity prior to the match.

The Football Association (FA) is said to be fully supportive of the England team’s decision, with CEO Mark Bullingham adding that they ‘immediately contacted police’ following Carter’s abuse and that their ‘priority is Jess and giving her all the support she needs.’

Meanwhile, in response, Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer said: ‘There is no place for racism in football or anywhere in society.’

The decision was backed by Reform UK leader Nigel Farage, who rejoiced at the abandonment of the ‘crazy gesture’, but head of football’s international anti-discriminatory body, Fare, has hit out at England for scrapping taking the knee.

Piara Powar, Fare’s executive director, said that taking of the knee is a ‘powerful anti-racist act’ and is ‘needed right now’.

He told the BBC: ‘The players have taken a decision to stop taking the knee, which is their right.

‘I personally don’t see the link between the two. The taking of the knee is a powerful anti-racist act and this England team have shown leadership across Europe in taking it for so long.

‘Powerful actions are needed right now, to deal with the issues that are being played out as we speak.’

He also said regulator Ofcom must start taking stronger action against social media platforms.

‘The racial abuse of Jess Carter highlights again how toxic some social media users are,’ added Powar. 

‘It also raises the question of the responsibility of the platforms to identify and remove harmful abuse such as racism.’

The Online Safety Act, which was passed in October 2023, states that social media platforms have a duty to protect users from racism, violence and death threats.  

Powar’s comments come after the police were brought in to work with the FA over ensuring those ‘responsible for the hate crime are brought to justice’.

The Lionesses are by no means the first to refuse taking the knee. In 2021, former Crystal Palace forward Wilfried Zaha announced that he would not be performing the gesture before games – claiming it was ‘degrading’ and had become routine.

‘I think the meaning behind the whole thing is becoming something that we just do now,’ he said. ‘That’s not enough. I’m not going to take the knee.’