Ian Wright has stated he would continue the anti-racism gesture of taking the knee if he were still playing professionally, even as the England women's team has chosen to abandon the practice.
His comments follow the Lionesses' decision to stop kneeling before matches after defender Jess Carter experienced racial abuse online following England's Euro 2025 quarter-final triumph against Sweden.
The Arsenal legend made his position clear whilst working as a pundit for ITV ahead of England's semi-final clash with Italy on Tuesday evening.
Wright emphasised that whilst the women's team had collectively decided to stand rather than kneel, he personally would maintain the gesture due to its representation of justice and equality.
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|Ian Wright has stated he would continue the anti-racism gesture of taking the knee if he were still playing professionally, even as the England women's team has chosen to abandon the practice
"Firstly I think the decision to take the knee should have been a person thing, if you want to take it," the 61-year-old said.
"I think it was always forced on people, for me, if I was playing now, for everything the knee represents, if we think of justice and equality of everything that goes with it, I think I would still take the knee.
"But in respects of Jess, the priority is she is ok and has the support around her but for me, I have said everything I can over the years in terms of racism and what it means and what it does and nothing gets any better.
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🗣️ "Nothing gets any better. Prepare your children, make them resilient towards it."@IanWright0 and Karen Carney discuss the abhorrent online abuse targeted at Jess Carter. pic.twitter.com/IGZzpISIGK
— ITV Football (@itvfootball) July 22, 2025
"What I would say now is prepare your children, prepare your family, make them resilient because it is going to continue to come.
"People say that is negative, it isn't they are winning and have been winning and will continue to win, I would urge people to build resilience against it.
"We can't stop it, it is always going to happen."
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The Lionesses announced on Sunday that they would remain standing before their semi-final match, marking their first departure from the kneeling gesture during the tournament.
The team released a collective statement declaring: "It's clear we and football need to find another way to tackle racism."
Their decision came after Carter revealed she had received substantial online abuse following the Sweden match, prompting her to withdraw from social media platforms.
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The defender, who featured for 70 minutes in the quarter-final victory, was subsequently moved to the substitutes' bench for the Italy encounter on Tuesday night.
The squad's statement emphasised their solidarity with Carter and all players who have experienced racial discrimination, describing the abuse as "vile" and calling for accountability.
England manager Sarina Wiegman acknowledged the difficulty of handling such incidents, describing the abuse as "ridiculous and disgusting."
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|England Lionesses star Jess Carter suffered horrendous abuse online following her team's win over Sweden last week
She confirmed that whilst Carter remained a strong individual eager to progress, the team felt compelled to address the situation publicly.
"It's really sad that we have to be occupied by this," Wiegman said. "Of course, she's not the only one who gets this abuse or racism."
Midfielder Georgia Stanway suggested the incident had strengthened team bonds, stating: "If anything it has probably brought us together as a team."
She acknowledged the complexity of eliminating racism from society and football, adding: "We don't know the steps that it takes in order for that to happen, but right now all we can do is show our support."