England star Lauren James banned for World Cup stamp but tournament not over
Lauren James has been handed a two-game ban by FIFA following her red card in England’s penalty shootout win over Nigeria.
The Chelsea star who will serve a suspension for Saturday’s Women’s World Cup quarter-final showdown with Colombia, will now miss a potential semi-final clash, after FIFA’s ruling.
James does hold some hope of featuring again at the tournament but to do so, England will have to reach the final of the competition.
The Lionesses qualified for the last eight the hard way after James was dismissed in the second half for standing on Michelle Alozie.
The incident which took place in the 87th minute appeared to be born out of frustration as Sarina Weigman’s side struggled to break down a resolute Nigeria backline.
James was quick to apologise to Alozie over the incident and promised to learn from her mistake.
«All my love and respect to you. I am sorry for what happened,” James told Alozie in a social media post
»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."
England released a statement in support of James and reinforced her remorse over the incident.
A statement read: «Lauren is really sorry for her actions which led to the red card and is full of remorse. It is wholly out of character for her.
»We will be supporting Lauren through-out and will be putting forward representation on her behalf."
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