Michelle Alozie calls for Lauren James to be shown ‘respect’ after England striker was sent off for stepping on her back during World Cup match
Michelle Alozie has called for Lauren James to be shown ‘respect’ after the England striker was sent off for stepping on her back during Monday’s World Cup game.
James faces the prospect of a three-match ban until the end of the tournament as she was sent off in the closing stages of regular time in Monday’s round of 16, which ended with England beating Nigeria on penalties.
Alozie tweeted that she understood why James acted the way she did in the pressure environment of a World Cup knockout match.
‘Abeg, rest. We play on the world stage. This game is one of passion, insurmountable emotions and moments. All due respect to Lauren James,” she wrote.
Alozie, 26, also posted a photo of James standing on her back with the caption ‘life’.
England star Lauren James (above) was sent off for stomping on Nigeria’s Michelle Alozie (below) during the closing stages of normal time in the last 16 of the World Cup.
Alozie tweeted a photo of the incident with the caption “life” after leaving the World Cup in Nigeria
She also called for James to be shown “respect” after her moment of madness
Speaking after England won the penalty shoot-out 4-2 after clinging to extra time with 10 players, Alozie said there were ‘no hard feelings’.
‘It was good for us. James is a really good player and it was very important for us to undo her,” she said.
“We didn’t want her to move freely and have those injections that she usually does. It was good for us to take her out of the game.
“I was a little surprised by her reaction to the tackle. I don’t think it was really necessary.
“I’m fine, my ass is fine because she steps on it!” I was a bit confused at first.
“At first I didn’t understand what was going on. There are no hard feelings, it’s just a game.’
England will play either Colombia or Jamaica in the quarter-finals and James will be suspended for that match, at least when FIFA’s disciplinary committee meets to decide whether to extend the suspension to three matches.
That would mean missing the rest of the tournament as the Lionesses reach their first-ever final.
Lauren James will miss one game, but her suspension is likely to be increased to three games
Lucy Bronze headed straight off the field after England’s victory to comfort the ‘upset’ James
James limited comments on her Instagram account to avoid a backlash in the aftermath of the broadcast, with teammate Lucy Bronze revealing she went straight to the locker room to comfort her after the shootout victory.
Bronze said, “Obviously she will be disappointed in herself. I went off the field right after the game to make sure she was okay.
“Of course she was a little upset and rightly so, and most of all she just feels bad for the team. I told her, ‘We made it. It’s a team, it’s not just one player.”
James is the younger sister of Chelsea and England defender Reece James, and said before the tournament that she hopes to use the World Cup to separate an identity from her sibling, whose name is regularly mentioned along with hers , but rarely or never , vice versa.
She had started this in stunning style before being sent off in the 87th minute of Monday night’s game.
She scored the only goal in England’s 1–0 win over Denmark in the group stage before scoring two and getting three assists in the Lionesses. 6–1 victory over China, becoming the only England player of either sex to contribute to five goals in a single World Cup match.
England won on penalties to reach the last eight despite playing extra time one player short
England coach Sarina Wiegman said James will learn a “huge lesson” from her moment of madness.
‘I spoke to her. I actually said (to her), ‘look, that happens to people sometimes’, that they’re in such intense play and such intense, emotional play, and in a split second she lost her emotions.
“Of course she apologized and she felt really, really bad.
She definitely doesn’t want to hurt anyone.
“This was a moment, it was a split second, it was later in the game, so players are getting a bit tired too. She is an inexperienced performer on this stage and she has done very well.
“I think she lost her emotions in a split second. Of course she doesn’t want to hurt anyone, she’s the sweetest person I know. Things like that happen, you can’t change it, it’s a huge lesson to learn, but of course it’s not something she did on purpose.’