Jess Carter feared Lionesses team-mate Lauren James would suffer 'astronomical' racist abuse

Jess Carter feared team-mate Lauren James would suffer "astronomical" racist abuse if she had been the only England player to miss a penalty in the Euro 2025 quarter-final shootout against Sweden.

Chelsea forward James was the target of online racist abuse in 2021 when playing for Manchester United and again in 2023 when at Chelsea.

Carter was the target of online racism during the tournament, with the Football Association (FA) working with the police to try to identify those responsible.

James missed England's second penalty in Zurich, but Beth Mead, Alex Greenwood and Grace Clinton - who are all white - went on to miss as well.

Despite those misses the Lionesses still managed to progress, before going on to beat Spain in the final in another penalty shootout.

Carter told ITN: "It's horrible to say but it's almost like a sigh of relief when other players that weren't black missed a penalty, because the racism that would have come with LJ [Lauren James] being the only one that missed would have been astronomical.

"It's not because we want them to fail - it's about knowing how it's going to be for us [black England players] if we miss."

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