Lauren James has promised to “learn” from her sending off at the Women’s World Cup - as the England star apologised to Nigeria’s Michelle Alozie for stamping on her back during the last-16 match.
James was shown a straight red card after leaving her studs on Alozie’s back when the defender was on the ground, with the 21-year-old having grown frustrated as Nigeria marked her out of the game.
The forward will be suspended for at least the quarter-finals, with England facing Colombia on Saturday after defeating Nigeria on penalties, but a Fifa disciplinary panel could decide that the act merits further punishment.
Alozie had tweeted “all respect to Lauren James” earlier on Tuesday after appearing to forgive the England player for the incident, adding “we are playing on the world’s stage, this game is one of passion, insurmountable emotions, and moments”.
James replied to Alozie’s post and said: “All my love and respect to you. I am sorry for what happened. Also, for our England fans and my team-mates, playing with and for you is my greatest honour and I promise to learn from my experience.”
The red card had left England facing a shock elimination from the World Cup, but the Lionesses held on with 10 players in extra time to force the penalty shoot-out, where Chloe Kelly was the hero once again to send the European champions through.
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”.
After receiving a red card, James is automatically suspended for England’s next match against Colombia, 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, the panel have the power to apply further sanctions.
In a statement, the FA said they will support James throughout the disciplinary process and will be putting forward representation on her behalf.
“Lauren is really sorry for her actions which led to the red card and is full of remorse,” the statement said. “It is wholly out of character for her.”
England manager Wiegman chose not to 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.
“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.’”
A three-match ban would see James ruled out for the rest of the tournament if England were to reach their first-ever Women’s World Cup final.
A decision might not be made until after England’s quarter-final, however, once James serves her automatic one-match ban.
Nigeria’s Deborah Abiodun was given a three-match ban after she was sent off for a dangerous tackle on Canada’s Ashley Lawrence in the group stage, but her ban was not increased until after she had served the first game.
Additional reporting from PA
