Lionesses rally around Lauren James after Nigeria red card

England players have rallied around Lauren James, who is at risk of misssing the rest of the Women's World Cup following a red card against Nigeria in the last 16.

James had emerged as England’s saving grace, their x-factor, and was having a flying tournament with three goals and three asissts in the group stage. Yet her tournament was turned upside when, in a moment of madness born out of frustration, she stepped on the back of Nigeria's Michelle Alozie.

The petulant incident drew comparisons with similar moments from men's team players David Beckham and Wayne Rooney in 1998 and 2006 respectively. And with the profile game continuing to grow - BBC One had a peak audience of 5.2m and a further 2.6m streaming online - James is already facing a trial by social media for her ill-judged actions.

On social media, she has restricted replies across all platforms, before posting a message to Alozie the day after the game: "All my love and respect to you. I am sorry for what happened."

James was previously subjected to racial abuse online during her time at Manchester United under Casey Stoney, who helped to guide the then-teenager through the difficult period.

Knowing the implications of social media after a poor performance or rash decision, Chelsea teammate Jess Carter warned of the possible negativity that could be coming her way.

"Social media is, I think, the devil," she said, showing her support for James. "I think it's horrible to go on, but I think she's got enough experience around her, enough people around her to help her and be there for her through everything. That's what we are; we stick together as a team.

"She's got good people around her; she's got a strong character, she'll be kicking herself enough. She'll come back from this, it's lessons learned, and she'll do better next time."

Although James had alrady positioned herself as one of the best players at the World Cup, it is easy to forget how inexperienced she is at this level - her first major international tournament.

"In the last game, everyone put the spotlight on her. She deals with it very very well," Lucy Bronze said, speaking to the press after the dramatic game that saw England defeat Nigeria 4-2 on penalties.

Having become close to James during the tournament, veteran defender Bronze offered her take on James and the red card, detailing the effect her loss makes to England.

"LJ didn't start the first game and didn’t feature at all during the Euros. Although she's young, she's a lot more mature than people probably give her credit for," the Barcelona player said.

"Obviously, we're very disappointed to lose a player of her calibre going into the next game. No one's going to be more disappointed than LJ. It's important to support her."

The pair have bonded since arriving in Australia, with the seasoned Bronze revealing she sees a lot of herself in James, who is quiet in nature and often misunderstood, according to the right back.

"She's had to mature from a young age because she's been thrown into the spotlight, whether that's to do with her brother and her family or that she's a fantastic player on her own,” she added, referencing Chelsea and England defender, and older sibling, Reece James.

“I went straight off the pitch after the game to make sure she was okay. Obviously, she was a little bit upset, and rightfully so. 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'."

Lionesses captain Millie Bright already knows James better than most, playing alongside her at club level. The pair have a strong on-field connection formed on the day-to-day with Chelsea.

"Listen, I have had red cards. Everyone goes through it as a player; everyone goes through it on the world stage," Bright said. "But for me, it’s not a situation that needs too much light shining on it. It’s happened, it’s in the past. We are through. All that matters is we come together as a group, we have each others’ backs, and it is just another challenge in football that the player has to face."

Bright likened the situation to her own run ins with bookings, using her vast experiences as a player and captain to know how best to support James during this time.

"I think it is really important that we look after each other. I have been through that. I know exactly how that feels. I think it is important that she has her space and lets her emotions settle. But it’s done now; we move on," the interim skipper explained.

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Chloe Kelly noted what a quality player James is, stating: "We'll get around her, of course, it's about the 23 sticking together in this moment."

Goalkeeper Mary Earps was another: "I'm sure LJ will be disappointed. We will stick together as a team. It takes everyone to grind out results like that. We'll stick together, for sure."

James is suspended for at least one game, which means she will definitely miss England's quarter-final against Colombia on Saturday. But if FIFA's displinary committee intervene, it could be increased to three. That would rule her out of the whole tournament, even if England get to the final.

"She's disappointed, she's upset, she's a young player people forget that,” Rachel Daly commented.
"They put a lot of pressure on her; the outside, media, everyone puts a lot of pressure on the kid, she's a young girl, she's got a lot to learn and she knows that.

"But, ultimately, it's a team game. She's been excellent for us and [we'll] put an arm round her, help her through it and she'll learn from it. She's a fantastic player with a bright future ahead of her."

No other person had been as full of praise for James ahead of the incident than Sarina Wiegman, the coach who has sung her praises during copious questions both before and during the tournament.

Wiegman rationalised the red card whilst understanding the possible driving force of her rashness.

"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," the England boss said.

"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. Yes, 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.

"I actually said [to her] what I've just said. Look, that happens sometimes with human beings, that they are in such an intense game and such a high-intensity, emotional game. Of course, she apologised, and she felt really, really bad. But absolutely, she doesn't want to hurt anyone."

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