England’s senior players have thrown their support behind Lauren James after the 21-year-old attacker was sent off in England’s knockout match against Nigeria on Monday evening.
The incident occurred in the 84th minute when James trod on Michelle Alozie’s back after the two tangled in a challenge. James has also apologised to Alozie and vowed to “learn from my experience”.
An initial yellow card was upgraded to red by VAR, leaving England down to 10 players for the entirety of extra time. The Lionesses went on to go through 4-2 on penalties after a 0-0 draw.
However, they are likely to be without James — who has three goals and three assists in just three starts — for the remainder of the tournament. Though the automatic ban is just for one match, FIFA has the power to extend suspensions for straight red cards. The precedent for violent conduct is a three-game ban.
Captain Millie Bright, the last England Women’s player to be sent off at a World Cup, immediately lent her support to her Chelsea club-mate.
GO DEEPER
Would Lauren James have escaped the vitriol Beckham and Rooney faced if England had lost?
“It’s football,” Bright said. “Listen, I have had red cards. Everyone goes through it as a player, everyone goes through it on the world stage. But for me,…
