Why Lionesses are not taking a knee as England face Italy in Euro 2025 semi-final clash

England face Italy on Tuesday evening (8pm kick-off) as they look to reach a second successive Women's European Championship final.

The Lionessescame back from 2-0 down against Sweden in the quarter-finals to seal a place in the last four. Sarina Wiegman's side needed extra-time and penalties to see off their Scandinavian opponents and keep their title defence alive.

But the focus in the build-up to Tuesday's game in Genevahas been on matters off the pitch. Defender Jess Carter revealed she has been targeted with racist abuse on social media throughout the tournament. Police are investigating the abuse suffered by Carter.

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And the Lionesses announced in a statement on Sunday that they would stop the anti-racism gesture of taking a knee before matches as it was "clear we and football need to find another way to tackle racism". Carter added she would take a step back from social media.

Speaking in a press conference on Monday, England manager Wiegman said: "It's really sad we have to be occupied by this. It's ridiculous and disgusting. It goes beyond football so we have to pay attention to that and support Jess.

"Of course she is not the only one to get abuse and [experience] racism and that is why she has addressed it. She is fully supported by us, the team and by myself.

"We have conversations. It's a hard situation, but Jess is a very strong person, she wants to move on too. But she also felt she had to address this, she couldn't just let it go, so she did - we did.

"Then we know there is a match, we want to perform, she is ready to perform and to compete. That says a lot about her and the team. The team wants to perform tomorrow [against Italy] but also felt it was important to send a message to the world."