Police have arrested a 59-year-old man from Great Harwood on suspicion of malicious communications following a wave of racist abuse directed at England defender Jess Carter.
The arrest marks what police chiefs are calling “the first of many” as authorities crack down on online hate crimes targeting footballers. The man has been released under investigation while enquiries continue into the vile messages sent to the 27-year-old defender.
Cheshire Chief Constable Mark Roberts, the National Police Chiefs’ Council (NPCC) lead for football policing, warned perpetrators they cannot hide behind social media profiles and promised more arrests in coming months.
‘Appalling Messages’ Condemned
Chief Constable Roberts praised Carter for her bravery in reporting the abuse and assisting with the investigation. “The messages directed towards Jess Carter were appalling and I would like to commend her for standing up to this abuse and assisting with our investigation,” he said.
“Nobody should be subjected to such disgusting abuse, and I expect that today’s arrest will be the first of many over the coming months.”
The senior officer delivered a stark warning to those responsible for online hate crimes: “We want to make it clear that racist abuse of this nature will not be tolerated.
Standing Up to Social Media Abuse
Roberts emphasised that perpetrators cannot escape accountability by hiding behind anonymous profiles. “Everyone is responsible for what they do and say, and we want to ensure offenders cannot hide behind a social media profile to post vile comments,” he stated.
The arrest follows Carter’s decision to step back from social media during the 2025 Women’s Euros in Switzerland after receiving what she described as “a lot of racial abuse” since the tournament began.
Euro 2025 Abuse Revealed
Carter, who started all four of England’s games during their semi-final run in July, made the brave decision to speak out about the racist messages she had been receiving throughout the tournament.
“From the start of the tournament I have experienced a lot of racial abuse,” Carter wrote in an emotional Instagram post. “Whilst I feel every fan is entitled to their opinion on performance and result I don’t agree or think it’s ok to target someone’s appearance or race.”
The defender announced she would be stepping back from social media platforms “in a bid to keep my focus on helping the team anyway I can.”
Team Unity Against Racism
The England women’s team rallied around their teammate, releasing a powerful statement condemning the “vile” abuse and announcing they would no longer take the knee before matches, stating it was “clear we and football need to find another way to tackle racism.
“We stand with Jess and all Lionesses players past and present who have suffered racism,” the team statement read. “No one should have to endure such vile abuse, be that in football or any walk of life.”
The squad added: “It is not right that while we are representing our country some of us are treated differently simply because of the colour of our skin.”
Scale of Abuse Exposed
Analysis by SentientSports GuardianAI revealed the shocking extent of abuse directed at Carter during England’s penalty shootout victory over Sweden. Of 10,110 social media posts monitored during the match, 6.8 per cent were abusive or insulting.
Carter received 14 per cent of all abusive posts, with 91 per cent of messages about her expressing negative sentiment – the highest figure calculated for any England player. The analysis found 85 per cent of abusive posts constituted “hostile criticism,” 12 per cent personal abuse, and 3 per cent discriminatory attacks.
Disturbingly, 27 per cent of abusive users sent multiple instances of hate messages, with 91 per cent of perpetrators based in the UK.
Police and FA Response
The Football Association immediately contacted UK police when they became aware of the racist abuse, with FA chief executive Mark Bullingham stating they were working to ensure “those responsible for this hate crime are brought to justice.
“As soon as we were made aware of the racist abuse Jess received, we immediately contacted UK police. They are in touch with the relevant social media platform,” Bullingham confirmed.
The FA boss added that such incidents were “regrettably, not the first time this has happened to an England player,” highlighting the ongoing battle against online racism in football.
Carter’s Courage Praised
Following England’s semi-final victory over Italy, where Carter came on as a substitute to a huge ovation from fans, she revealed it was her teammates who encouraged her to speak out.
“I was like, ‘I’ll just let it go and see afterwards’, but we do what we do to represent ourselves and our country,” Carter explained. “I’ve got mixed-race nieces and nephews, I want them to grow up to be strong and brave and powerful and believe they can do whatever they want to do.”
She added: “If by speaking up it makes one silly person keep their mouth shut with certain comments, that’s a big enough reason for me.”
Social Media Companies Under Fire
Carter later called on social media platforms to do more to protect users from online abuse. Speaking to CNBC after the tournament, she said: “I think social media companies need to do better at protecting people in the public eye.”
“The amount of abuse that we get, not even just me, but that everyone in the public eye gets, is extraordinary, and it’s not okay. The social media platforms can do better to recognise those people that are sharing the abuse and prosecute them the way that they should be if this was in the street.”
Meta, Instagram’s parent company, took five days to respond to the abuse, eventually stating they had “proactively removed a number of violating comments and taken action against accounts which break our rules.”
Pattern of Arrests
The arrest follows a pattern of police action against online abusers of footballers. Earlier this year, 20-year-old Harry Dunbar from Whiteley was handed a three-year football banning order and 200 hours of community service for sending racist abuse to non-league striker Christopher Wreh.
Chief Constable Roberts has consistently emphasised that online hate crimes carry real-world consequences, previously stating after Euro 2020: “There are people out there who believe they can hide behind a social media profile and get away with posting such abhorrent comments. They need to think again.”
Investigation Continues
The 59-year-old man from Great Harwood remains under investigation as police continue their enquiries into the malicious communications sent to Carter. Authorities have not released further details about the specific content of the messages or when they were sent.
The arrest represents a significant step in the ongoing battle against online racism in football, with police chiefs promising it marks just the beginning of a wider crackdown on perpetrators who target players with abuse on social media platforms.
As investigations continue, the message from law enforcement remains clear: racist abuse will not be tolerated, whether on the terraces or online, and those responsible will face the full consequences of their actions.
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Image Credit (Shortened)
Jess Carter defending at Gotham FC vs Utah Royals FC (23 Aug 2025) – by Bryan Berlin, licensed under CC BY‑SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
