England coach, Sarina Wiegman, revealed that Lauren James apologised after her red card incident against Nigeria, where she “lost her emotions,” causing her to receive a straight red card.
During the match, James made a reckless challenge on Michelle Alozie, stamping on her back as they both tried to get up from a tussle.
The incident initially resulted in a yellow card, but it was later upgraded to a red after a VAR review.
As a result, James will miss the quarterfinal against Colombia or Jamaica, and depending on England’s progress, her ban may extend further if FIFA decides to increase the punishment.
The red card incident evoked memories of David Beckham’s and Wayne Rooney’s red cards in the 1998 and 2006 World Cups, respectively.
Despite being England’s standout young star and player of the tournament so far, James was halted by a moment of madness.
Wiegman emphasised that although emotions got the better of the 21-year-old, James never intended for such an incident to occur.
“It was a moment of a split second, and it was later in the game, so players also get a little tired. She is an inexperienced player on this stage and has done really well,” she said.
“And I think, in a split-second, she just lost her emotions. And, of course, she does not want to hurt anyone. She is the sweetest person I know.
“Yet then things happen like that, and you cannot change it any more. So it is a huge lesson for her to learn, but it is not something that she really did on purpose.
“It happens sometimes with human beings – that you are in such an intense game, such an emotional game, and, in a split-second, she lost her emotions.
“She apologised, and she felt really, really bad, and she absolutely she does not want to hurt anyone.”
While James’ sending off was petulant at best, it would not have been the turning point if England had been knocked out. They toiled through the goalless last-16 fixture in Brisbane, and were lucky to reach a penalty shootout, ultimately won by Chloe Kelly’s deciding kick.
But Wiegman was still pleased with how England reacted after James’ sending off, adding: “I am really proud of the team. We have had many setbacks. I think this was a big one too.
Lauren James’ red card was reminiscent of David Beckham’s sending off against Argentina at the 1998 World Cup
“So, as soon as it looked like Lauren James was sent off, we straight away had to re-organise and do something else on the pitch.
“Then the conviction to keep [the score] to 0-0 and to try to get out of their press, that was just incredible. The players got really, really tired, but we really stuck together and showed a lot of resilience.
“When you are so tired and then go into a penalty shootout and do so well, I think that is really incredible how the team did.”