‘All my love and respect to you’: England star Lauren James apologises to Nigeria’s Michelle Alozie for stamping on her back after she told under fire Lioness that she forgave her and urged fans to show her ‘respect’
- Lionesses star was sent off for violent conduct after stepping on Alozie’s back
- James could now miss the remainder of the tournament through suspension
- But Alozie has tweeted that James should be shown ‘respect’ after the incident
Lioness golden girl Lauren James has vowed to ‘learn’ from her sending off at the Women’s World Cup – as the English striker apologised to Nigeria’s Michelle Alozie for stamping on her back during Monday’s last-16 match.
The frustrated 21-year-old Chelsea ace was red carded during the 87th minute for her ‘moment of madness’, which saw her stepping on the fallen Nigerian defender after being successfully marked out of the game.
James has been suspended from England’s quarter final clash on Saturday against Colombia – and could miss out on the entire tournament if a FIFA disciplinary panel decided to extend her ban to three matches.
Alozie had tweeted ‘all respect to Lauren James’ earlier on Tuesday after appearing to forgive the under-fire forward for the incident, adding ‘we are playing on the world’s stage, this game is one of passion, insurmountable emotions, and moments’.
Breaking her silence following the foul, James replied to Alozie’s post and tweeted: ‘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 (top)has spoken out following her sending off for stamping on Michelle Alozie (bottom)
James was shown a red card by referee Melissa Borjas (middle) after she reviewed the incident on a monitor
It was eventually that decided that James would be shown a straight red card for her stamp
James’s apology comes as she was spotted with her teammates in Sydney Airport today after it emerged she apologised to them in the dressing room after being sent off.
The stony-faced striker now faces an anxious wait over whether her World Cup dream is over with FIFA yet to make a decision on the length of her suspension following yesterday’s incident.
READ MORE: Stony-faced Lauren James is seen with her teammates at Sydney airport after it emerged she apologised to fellow Lionesses in dressing room after red card which could see her miss rest of Women’s World Cup
James, whose brother Reece also plays for England’s men’s squad, was initially given a yellow card for the foul, which was reminiscent of a young David Beckham’s infamous one which sent England crashing out of the 1998 World Cup.
Players shown red cards at the tournament are automatically banned for one-game but more matches can be imposed on review. However, James could be forced to wait until after England’s quarter-final with Colombia or Jamaica on Saturday.
James came under fire from fans, pundits and fellow pundits for stamping on the fallen defender during Monday’s clash in Brisbane.
Gary Lineker said it had been ‘a Beckhamesque moment of madness’, referring to David Beckham’s infamous 1998 World Cup scuffle with Argentina’s Diego Simeone.
But 26-year-old Alozie graciously tweeted today she understood why James acted as she did during the pressured environment of a World Cup knockout game.
She said: ‘Abeg, rest. We are playing on the world’s stage. This game is one of passion, insurmountable emotions, and moments. All respect for Lauren James.’
Alozie tweeted a picture of the incident and captioned it ‘life’ after Nigeria’s World Cup exit
She also called for James to be shown ‘respect’ following her moment of madness
Lauren James – seen in Sydney Airport today – faces an anxious wait over whether her World Cup dream is over with FIFA yet to make a decision on the length of her suspension
Alozie also posted a follow-up message saying it was ‘still a red though’ – and then a picture of her smiling as James stood on her back, captioning it ‘life.’
Speaking after England won the penalty shoot-out 4-2, having clung on through extra time with 10 players, Alozie said there were ‘no hard feelings.’
‘It was good for us. James is a really good player and nullifying her was really big for us,’ she said.
‘We didn’t want her to move freely and get those shots off that she usually does. It was good for us to have her taken out of the game.
‘I was a little bit surprised by her reaction to the tackle. I don’t think it was really needed.
‘I’m fine, my butt is fine from her stepping on it! I was kind of confused initially. I didn’t understand what was going on at first. There’s no hard feelings, it’s just a game.’
Following her controversial booking, James restricted comments on her Instagram account to avoid a backlash in the aftermath of the sending off, with team-mate Lucy Bronze revealing she went straight into the dressing room to console her after the shoot-out win.
Lauren James will miss one match but her ban is likely to be increased to three games
James is pictured walking off the pitch after being given a red card
Bronze said: ‘Obviously she’s going to be disappointed in herself. I went straight off the pitch after the game to make sure she was OK.
‘Obviously she was a little bit upset and rightfully so and more than anything she just feels bad for the team. I said to her, ‘We’ve made it through. It’s a team, it’s not just one player.”
James is the younger sister of Chelsea and England defender Reece James, and said before the tournament that she hoped to use the World Cup to carve out an identity separate from her sibling, whose name is regularly mentioned in tandem with hers but rarely, if ever, vice versa.
She had begun to do so in stunning style before she was sent off in the 87th minute of Monday’s match. She scored the only goal in England’s 1-0 group stage victory over Denmark before netting two and picking up three assists in the Lionesses’ 6-1 win over China, in the process becoming the only England player of either gender to contribute to five goals in a single World Cup contest.
England coach Sarina Wiegman said James will learn a ‘huge lesson’ from her moment of madness.
Lucy Bronze headed straight off the pitch after England’s win to console the ‘upset’ James
England won on penalties to reach the last eight despite playing extra time a player short
Former England striker Gary Lineker described it as a ‘moment of madness’
‘I’ve spoken to her. I actually said [to her], ‘look, that happens sometimes with human beings,’ that they are in such an intense game and such a high-intensity, emotional game, and in a split second she lost her emotions.
‘Of course she apologised and she felt really, really bad. Absolutely she doesn’t want to hurt anyone.
‘This was a moment, it was a split second, it was later in the game, so players also get a little tired, she’s an inexperienced player on this stage and she’s done really well.
‘I think in a split second she just lost her emotions. Of course she doesn’t want to hurt anyone, she’s the sweetest person I know. Things happen like that, you can’t change it any more, it’s a huge lesson to learn but of course it’s not something she’s done on purpose.’
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