Football has a racism problem. But England wouldn’t be in the Euro final without women of colour

Without players of colour, England wouldn’t be in the women’s Euro finals – yet racism still mars the game, experts have warned. 

On Tuesday (22 July), 19-year-old Michelle Agyemang scored a stunning last-minute equaliser against Italy. The stoppage-time goal – followed by a 118th minute Chloe Kelly winner – kept the Lionesses in the tournament.

Agyemang has been rightly lauded as a heroine, with many outlets describing her as England’s “saviour”.

Yet this support contrasts sharply with the deluge of racist vitriol directed at team-mate Jess Carter. Disappointed by the defender’s early performances, racist trolls took aim.

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“From the start of the tournament I have experienced a lot of racial abuse,” the 27-year-old posted on Instagram.

“While 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. As a result of this I will be taking a step back from social media.”

It’s the classic dynamic for many players of colour, says Paul Kearns, from Show Racism the Red Card. Play well, and you’re heaped with praise. But make even one mistake, and the racist abuse begins. 

“The game has grown exponentially for the women,” Kearns told Big Issue. “And unfortunately, that means the positives and the real negatives of football come with that… that unacceptable racist abuse is all too common.”

England’s national teams – both men’s and women’s – are reliant on non-white players. 

In the current women’s squad, Agyemang and Lauren James have both shone. In the men’s Euro 2024 semi-final against the Netherlands, 71% of players had at least one parent or grandparent born outside the UK.

At Euro 2020, Raheem Sterling – the son of Jamaican immigrants – was one of England’s top scorers. Thirteen of the 26 players in that squad had dual-national eligibility.

But after the men’s team lost the final on penalties, trolls directed more than 2,000 racist tweets at Marcus Rashford, Bukayo Saka and Jadon Sancho.

The message is grimly familiar: you’re English when you score, but something else when you don’t. Indeed, scoring is not always enough to keep the racist trolling at bay.

“I grew up in the 80s, and I don’t really follow the England men’s team anymore,” says Kearns. “One of the reasons why is all those associations of fans being quite openly hostile to Black England players.

“One well-known example is the England team returning from Brazil after they’d just won 2–0, and John Barnes had scored one of the most incredible goals by an England player of all time. There were fans on that plane singing ‘one-nil to England’ because they didn’t count the second goal – because it was scored by a Black player”

According to Kick It Out, reports of discriminatory abuse rose by 65% in 2022–23 – the highest on record – with 1,007 incidents across professional, grassroots and online settings. Of those, 73% were race related. 

But the increase in discrimination reports also reflects greater awareness and improved reporting rather than acceptance.

And the women’s game is doing “amazing work” in dispelling the old stereotypes of yobbish football fans, Kearns added.

Before the semi-final, the Lioness substitutes stood arm-in-arm on the touchline before kick-off in a show of solidarity with Carter.

Last Sunday (20 July), the squad said they would stop taking the knee before games because football must “find another way to tackle racism”.

Kearns questioned this decision, describing taking the knee as a “powerful gesture”. But he was heartened by the “massive support” that came from most fans.

On Tuesday, many of the crowd sung Carter’s song, and held signs reading “I stand with Jess.” Some applauded in the 16th minute in support of the defender, whose squad number is 16.

“The women’s team, have been an absolute breath of fresh air,” said Kearns. “I think it’s a different kind of national support. When you see people draped in the flag in and around large tournaments, or at Wembley for women’s internationals, it seems a very different vibe. It seems a very inclusive environment – a very diverse environment.”

The Lionesses have not been immune to criticism over representation. At Euro 2022, England named just three players of colour in the 23-player squad.

Despite growing visibility, the elite pathway for girls of colour remains narrow. The scouting and the development system continues to favour players from more affluent – and whiter – areas.

But it’s slowly getting better, says Kearns, as the women’s game generates more funding and attention.

It’s largely a “financing” issue – funding training hubs in deprived communities. But symbolically, the success of this year’s Euros squad has been very powerful.

“Going back to the last euros, there was a fair criticism of the squad that that it was the least diverse squad in the whole tournament,” Kearns said.

“And as much as there were probably lots and lots of little girls all across the country inspired by the Lionesses, there were a huge swathe of young girls that couldn’t see themselves represented. 

“We’re now, gladly, only a few short years later on, in the position where, you know, fingers crossed, three or four, three or four Black players could be celebrating with a trophy on Sunday night. What an absolutely powerful and inspirational image for young girls of all different ethnicities and backgrounds across the country, to say, you know, that there’s no limit to what you can do.”

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