Matildas Ellie Carpenter Opens Up On Hate And Abuse Online | 10 News First

Ellie Carpenter is one of Australian football's biggest and brightest stars, but it hasn't always been a smooth ride to the top. In an exclusive interview with 10 News First, the Matildas defender opens up on dealing with online abuses following her side's World Cup exit last year, and how she now sees big things on the horizon for the women's national side. Thanks for joining us. So you're used to this sort of rock star life yet? We've got like private rooms and there's security everywhere. This is Australia. Yeah, I think it's amazing to see the reaction of Australia post-World Cup. The nation has really, you know, bought into the Matildas. We want to keep, you know, continuing to breaking those barriers down, you know, kind of changing the mindset of Australian football. And I think we have put ourselves on the map. The World Cup run, overwhelming memories of that. What do you take away from it? One memory that really sticks out is, you know, that penalty shootout that's always going to stay in my head. I feel like I'm getting goosebumps at the moment. You know, those feelings that I felt, that the team felt during that was crazy. It was well publicised. You copped a lot of nonsense online after that England game. What sort of advice can you maybe give to the younger Matildas fans about that social media world that they are living in? Yeah, I think, you know, social media is great these days, but also there's obviously a dark side to it. You know, it's everywhere in football, men and the women's game. But I think it's important that, you know, we speak out about it. Tell, you know, our story and, you know, say it is unacceptable to be treated like that. It affects people around you that are close to you that are reading it. But I think it's important just to, you know, ignore them, you know, shut it out and just have that support system around you, because you're giving your best at the end of the day, giving your all. Do you have to sort of steer clear of certain things now? Look, there's, you know, someone's always going to say something, aren't they? You know, I think kind of I have, you know, you can't do anything right these days. You know, you play your best game, you play your worst game, make a mistake, you know, you can't make everyone happy. Thank you very much, Ellie. Appreciate you giving us your time this morning. Thank you. Thank you. And will Matilda's coach stick around after the upcoming Olympics? Well, Ellie Carpenter tells us her thoughts on that issue too. Catch it on The Late News tonight, straight after the game.