Lionesses forward, Lauren James has sent out an apology to Super Falcons; Michelle Alozie over her stamp of the Nigerian in Monday’s round of i6 Women’s World Cup match in Australia.
The European champions got away with one on Monday in Brisbane as they stumbled into the quarter-finals 4-2 on penalties.
Nigeria are ranked 40th in the world to England’s four but they hit the woodwork twice and were clearly the better side,
James was sent off in the 87th minute for a cynical stamp and she 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.
After receiving a red card, James is automatically suspended for England’s next match, however, her punishment will be reviewed by a Fifa disciplinary panel.
In response to a Twitter post by Alozie, the forward said: ‘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.’
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.
— Lauren James (@laurenjamess22) August 8, 2023
Coach Sarina Wiegman refused to blame the 21-year-old during a post-match interview
“I think, in a split-second, she just lost her emotions,” said Wiegman, who took her native Netherlands to the World Cup final four years ago, where they lost 2-0 to the United States.
“And of course, she does not want to hurt anyone.”
