Lauren James could be ruled out of the rest of the Women’s World Cup as the England star awaits a Fifa disciplinary panel hearing following her red card for stamping on the back of an opponent during the last-16 clash against Nigeria.
England held on to beat Nigeria on penalties after surviving extra time with 10 players to reach the quarter-finals, but James’ red card put their World Cup chances under serious threat.
The 21-year-old was sent off for violent conduct in the 86th minute, with the match at 0-0, after stamping on the back of Nigeria player Michelle Alozie.
James was initially shown a yellow card by the referee, but VAR recommended a review and the yellow card was upgraded to red after the act of petulance.
James had been trying to lead a counter-attack when she was dispossessed by Alozie. Believing she was fouled, James appealed to the referee and when she did not get the free-kick, left her studs on Alozie’s back when she got back to her feet.
James will be automatically suspended for England’s next match against either Colombia or Jamaica however her punishment will be reviewed by a Fifa disciplinary panel.
If the forward is deemed to have committed a serious act of foul play, then the panel have the power to apply further sanctions. A three-match ban would see James ruled out for the rest of the tournament.
James has been England’s player of the World Cup but was left frustrated after Nigeria marked her out of the game and lashed out, with manager Sarina Wiegman admitting she “lost her emotions”.
Lauren James of England stamps Michelle Alozie of Nigeria— (REUTERS)
Lauren James of England stamps Michelle Alozie of Nigeria— (FIFA via Getty Images)
Lauren James of England walks off the pitch at the Brisbane Stadium— (PA)
Wiegman, who had not watched the incident back, did not criticise James and said: “She’s an inexperienced player on this stage and has done really well, and I think in a split second she just lost her emotions.
“And of course she doesn’t want to hurt anyone. She’s the sweetest person I know, and things happen like that and you can’t change it anymore, so it’s a huge lesson for her to learn, but of course it’s not something that she really did on purpose.”
England defender Lucy Bronze said James was “upset” as the Chelsea star waits for the disciplinary panel’s verdict, which may not come until after England’s quarter-final on Saturday.
England's Lauren James fouls Nigeria's Michelle Alozie— (PA)
The big screen at the Brisbane Stadium shows a red card for Lauren James— (PA)
Lauren James of England stamps Michelle Alozie of Nigeria— (PA)
“Obviously she’s going to be disappointed in herself,” Bronze said. “I went straight off the pitch after the game to make sure she was OK. Obviously she was a little bit upset and rightfully so and more than anything she just feels bad for the team. I said to her, ‘We’ve made it through. It’s a team, it’s not just one player.’”
James is the younger sister of Chelsea and England defender Reece James and said before the tournament that she hoped to use the World Cup to carve out an identity separate from her sibling, whose name is regularly mentioned in tandem with hers but rarely, if ever, vice versa.
She had begun to do so in stunning style before she was sent off in the 87th minute of Monday night’s match-up, scoring the only goal in England’s 1-0 group stage victory over Denmark before netting two and picking up three assists in the Lionesses’ 6-1 win over China, in the process becoming the only England player of either gender to contribute to five goals in a single World Cup contest.
Bronze said: “Although LJ is the youngest in the team, she’s had to mature from a young age because she’s been thrown into the spotlight, whether that’s to do with her brother and her family, or that she’s a fantastic player on her own.
“In the last game, everyone put the spotlight on her. She deals with it very, very well. She likes hanging around with the older players, myself, Jordan (Nobbs), Alex Greenwood, we are the three that she comes to asking for advice.
“LJ didn’t start the first game, she didn’t feature at all during the Euros.
“She’s a massively talented player. We all know that and obviously we’re very disappointed to lose a player of her calibre going into the next game. No one’s going to be more disappointed than LJ. It’s important to support her.”
