WWC: Two-match ban for red carded England player Lauren James

Advertisements

Red carded England star Lauren James has been given a two-game ban for standing on the back of an opponent during the Women’s World Cup last 16 win over Nigeria, FIFA’s disciplinary committee has announced.

The 21-year-old Chelsea forward was handed a red card late in the second half for treading on Nigerian defender Michelle Alozie as she lay on the floor.

James was initially awarded a yellow card but then handed a red following a VAR check – walking off without making any complaints – just four minutes before full-time.

England survived the dismissal to advance to the quarter-finals 4-2 on penalties after the game finished goalless following extra time.

Concerns were raised that James could be handed a three-match ban if the incident was ruled as “violent conduct”, which would have seen her miss the rest of the tournament.

James was already told she would miss Saturday’s quarter-final against Colombia in Sydney due to an automatic one-match ban.

The confirmation of the two-match ban means she will now also miss any possible semi-final match.

FIFA said in a statement: “The FIFA Disciplinary Committee has imposed a two-match suspension on England’s player Lauren James following a violation of article 14 of the FIFA Disciplinary Code at the FIFA Women’s World Cup match England vs Nigeria.

“The suspension will be served for the FIFA Women’s World Cup quarter-final and the next international fixture following that.”

James previously publicly apologised to Alozie vowing she would “learn” from the experience, while the Lionesses rallied round her, describing the incident as “wholly out of character”.

England coach Sarina Wiegman separately admitted James had “lost her emotions” during a “split moment” but insisted she had not meant to hurt anyone and is the “sweetest person I know”.

“Lauren is really sorry for her actions which led to the red card and is full of remorse,” an England statement had read. “It is wholly out of character for her.

“We will be supporting Lauren throughout and will be putting forward representation on her behalf”.