England striker Lauren James has been sent off after stepping on the back of Nigeria’s Michelle Alozie in a Women’s World Cup round of 16 match. The bid was the most commented subject of the match, which ended with the classification of the European team. England coach Sarina Wiegman said in a press conference that James’ inexperience had “lost control”.
“She is inexperienced on this stage and in a split second she lost her emotions. It’s not something she did on purpose. She apologized and felt really bad,” he said.
The episode took place in the final stretch of the second half. At 42 minutes of the stage, Lauren and Alozie collided. When getting up, the English striker stepped on the back of the Nigerian. Initially, referee Melissa Borjas applied a yellow card. But the video referee indicated the review and the athlete was expelled.
“She would never want to hurt anyone. She’s the sweetest person I know. It was late in the game so the players get a little tired. It’s a big lesson for her to learn,” said the coach.
For Michelle Alozie, the action was mind-boggling. “I was a bit taken aback by her reaction to the tackle. I don’t think it was really necessary. I’m fine despite the stomp. I was a bit confused at first. I didn’t understand what was going on at first. No hard feelings, it’s just a game,” said in an interview with the BBC.
England stayed with the classification after beating Nigeria on penalties, by 4×2, after a goalless draw in normal time and extra time. The team now awaits the winning team of the confrontation between Colombia and Jamaica, this Tuesday (8), at 5 am. The duel of the quarterfinals is scheduled for Saturday (12), at 7:30 am, in Sydney, Australia.
Team scorer, with three goals, Lauren James will be embezzled because of the expulsion. But, in addition to complying with the automatic suspension, the player also runs the risk of suffering two more punishment matches, if FIFA deems it necessary. With that, she could miss the rest of the World Cup, in case of classification of the selection of England.
“It’s sad that we’re going to miss her in a game. Everyone knows what a talent she is. She’s young and I hope she learns from this experience,” said defender Lucy Bronze.
