Jess Carter: England defender says Euro 2025 abuse left her not wanting to leave her hotel room

Carter is in the UK as Gotham prepare to face Brazilian side Corinthians in the inaugural Women’s Champions Cup semi-final at Brentford on January 28.

She moved from nine-time Women’s Super League champions Chelsea to the United States in 2024 and has seen a big difference in how female players are treated between the two countries.

While the fans who support the Lionesses and travel to watch matches are “amazing,” Carter said she has noticed that fans in Gotham are friendlier than they were in England.

“In America, they seem to be very happy and very positive and tell you how great you are, even if you haven’t done a good job,” she added.

“My happiness comes before any form of football anymore, so any decision I make about where I play football will be based on where I think I will be happiest for myself and my family.”

Carter’s teammates rallied around her during Euro 2025, and the team made the decision to stop the anti-racism movement of taking a knee before matches when Carter spoke out because it was “clear that we and football need to find another way to tackle racism”.

As women’s football grows in popularity, Carter said the idea that sport is a free space for people to be who they want is beginning to decline.

“She’s starting to hesitate about who she wants to be, and that’s not what we want,” she said.

“We want to keep it family friendly. We want great competition, but the abuse doesn’t have to come with it.”

“But it’s getting worse, especially with the lionesses.

“Profiles are huge now. Every player should feel comfortable walking down the street and being who they want to be, and it’s gotten to a place where a lot of people don’t feel that kind of comfort anymore.”