England narrowly managed to reach the quarter-finals of the Women’s World Cup by beating Nigeria, but Lauren James’ unfortunate act dominated Monday’s encounter.
England were down to 10 players in extra time and penalties after the 21-year-old forward received an automatic red card in the 87th minute. In this close encounter, in which no goal was scored in regulation time, James let himself be carried away.
After a muscle contact with Michelle Alozie, the two players landed on the ground. As she stood up, the Englishwoman deliberately placed her crampons on the Nigerian’s back, who was quick to complain to the referee. She initially gave James a yellow card before punishing her more severely after watching the videotape.
Anyone who has scored three goals in as many World Cup games before this encounter will be banned for at least one game. After the game, head coach Sarina Wiegman came to her defense.
“She is an inexperienced player at this level and has done very well. I think she lost control of her emotions for a short time. Of course she doesn’t want to hurt anyone. She’s the sweetest person I know,” she said at a news conference.
On social media, many have compared the incident to that of David Beckham in 1998. The famous midfielder deliberately tried to bring down Argentina’s Diego Simeone after the game was stopped, earning him a red card.