England stars rally round Lauren James after World Cup red card send off

England players have rallied round Lauren James after being sent off for standing on the back of an opponent during the team’s penalty shoot-out victory over Nigeria in the FIFA Women's World Cup last 16.The 21-year-old Chelsea forward was handed a red card late in the second half for treading on Michelle Alozie as she lay on the floor - and could be banned for the rest of the tournament.

However, while the former Manchester United star’s sending-off contributed to the team’s difficulties leaving them a player down, Sarina Wiegman’s side progressed to the quarter-finals, snatching victory in a tense penalty shoot-out.

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.

It was the side’s first red card since Millie Bright’s dismissal in the World Cup semi-final defeat to the United States in 2019.

Watch: How the Lionesses snatched a last-minute victory after holding on during extra time one woman down

James will miss one match over the incident but there is potential for the ban to be extended following a review.If the incident is ruled as "violent conduct", James is likely to face a three-match ban, which would rule her out for the remainder of the tournament.

Coach Wiegman, who had not watched the incident back, 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.”

However, Beth England is hopeful James’ punishment for her red card will not see her ruled out for the rest of the tournament.

“We all know Lauren is magic, she is our weapon and it’s a big loss for us but we can’t change that now,” she told Radio 5 Live.

“We have an unbelievable squad and players who can fill in in that position and hopefully we can see her again in the tournament.

Former men’s national team striker Gary Lineker likened James' red card to Beckham’s kick-out at Argentina’s Diego Simeone at the 1998 World Cup.

“The @Lionesses down to 10 as Lauren James has a Beckhamesque moment of madness,” Lineker wrote on Twitter.

Criticism of James has been well short of what Beckham received and team-mate Lauren Hemp said she would receive the full support of the squad.

“It’s things that happen in football, it’s not nice to see a red card but I felt like going down to 10 players we dealt with it very well, we were super-resilient and didn’t let them score,” Hemp told BBC Radio 5 Live.

“It’s one of those things. We will get around Lauren James in the coming days, she’s still very young."

Former England defender Anita Asante was critical of James’ 87th-minute reaction to her growing frustration in the game, which finished 0-0 after extra-time.

“I’m really disappointed. One act has kind of tarnished all the good work that Lauren James has done up until this point,” she told Radio 5 Live.

“She is a superstar and hopefully she will grow from this experience.”

Asante was also critical of a lacklustre performance.

“England will go back, analyse the game and hopefully there will be some hard truths in the changing room,” she added.

“They need to hold each other accountable, including that moment with Lauren James.

“England are very lucky to have progressed to the quarter-finals and they definitely need to step up performances if they want to get all the way to a final.”

Another former international Alex Scott was more positive, however, telling BBC One: “When you think about how you go on to win tournaments you need moments of luck, magic, finding a way – which they did.”

On James’ red card, Scott added: “When you are having that frustration it is about controlling it. It is having that maturity and experience on this world stage, which she will get.”

Fara Williams, England’s record appearance holder with 177 caps between 2001 and 2019, said that James’ actions had been “silly and immature”.

“It wasn’t aggressive, it was violent (conduct) but it was silly and immature,” she said.

“I think it is one of those moments when she hasn’t even thought about it. She’s given her a little touch thinking she could get away with it.”

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