By Adegboyega Adeleye
The English Football Association is awaiting the length of Lauren James’ suspension from FIFA’s Disciplinary Committee following the forward’s red card against Nigeria.
James was sent off in the 87th minute for violent conduct after she deliberately stamped on Michelle Alozie’s back, who creatively dispossessed her.
In an outburst of frustration for being kept quiet and marked out throughout the game by Halimatu Ayinde, the 21-year-old stood on Alozie’s back after losing possession and was shown a red card following a review by the video assistant referee (VAR).
Nigeria suffered a painful exit as they crashed out of the World Cup after losing 4-2 on penalties to the Lionesses of England.
England released a statement: “Lauren is really sorry for her actions which led to the red card and is full of remorse. It is wholly out of character for her.
“We will be supporting Lauren throughout and will be putting forward representation on her behalf. We fully respect FIFA’s disciplinary process and will not be making any further comment until after any decision has been made.”
The red card for the challenge puts a dampener on her impressive performance throughout the tournament with three goals and three assists as James will miss the quarter-finals and England’s leading scorer could face a longer suspension should FIFA’s disciplinary process deem it worthy.
Fifa has not put a time frame on when a decision will be made but could extend her automatic one-game ban – which could see her miss the rest of the tournament even if England reaches the final.
Earlier in the tournament, Nigeria’s Deborah Abiodun served a three-match ban after being sent off during the Super Falcons’ first group-stage match, a goalless draw against Olympic champions Canada.
The forward’s absence severely weakened the England side before extra time and will be suspended for Saturday’s quarter-final against Colombia.
Nigeria’s Michelle Alozie, who plays for Houston Dash in the US, offered her respect to James and tweeted: “We are playing on the world’s stage.
“This game is one of passion, insurmountable emotions, and moments. All respect for Lauren James.”
England forward Lauren James quoted the tweet and apologized for the rash challenge.
She wrote: “All my love and respect to you. I am sorry for what happened. Also, for our England fans and my teammates, playing with and for you is my greatest honour, and I promise to learn from my experience.”
After the game, England boss Sarina Wiegman said: “She is inexperienced on this stage and in a split-second lost her emotions. It isn’t something she did on purpose. She apologised and felt really bad.
“She would never want to hurt someone. She is the sweetest person I know.”
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