Lauren James sent off for petulant stamp on Nigerian defender at Women's World Cup

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Lauren James received a red card in the 87th minute of the game after the England forward stamped on Michelle Alozie

Lauren James red card BBC Women's World Cup England Nigeria Michelle Alozie
(Image credit: BBC)

England forward Lauren James has been sent off in the last-16 tie with Nigeria at the Women's World Cup 2023 for standing on a prone player's back.

With the score at 0-0 heading into the closing stages of the 90 minutes, James received the ball from a long pass by Millie Bright. As she tried dribbling past Michelle Alozie, the Nigerian defender tackled her before falling to the floor.

Frustrated, James attempted to clamber over Alozie on the deck, but not before petulantly stamping on her back while doing so at the Women's World Cup. 

Initially Honduran referee Melissa Borjas issued James with a yellow card, the first of the game. However, following a VAR review, Borjas overturned her original decision and brandished James with a red card, meaning England went down to 10 players.

As a result, England manager Sarina Wiegman decided to bring on Chloe Kelly for Alessia Russo, shuffling the pack for some fresh legs and a slight change in formation. Five players remained at the back, but Kelly joined Hemp up front, with Keira Walsh and Georgia Stanway in midfield.

Lauren James of England stamps on Michelle Alozie of Nigeria which later leads to a red card being shown following a Video Assistant Referee review during the FIFA Women's World Cup Australia & New Zealand 2023 Round of 16 match between England and Nigeria at Brisbane Stadium on August 07, 2023 in Brisbane / Meaanjin, Australia. (Photo by Elsa - FIFA/FIFA via Getty Images)

James' yellow card was overturned to a red card after a VAR review (Image credit: Getty Images)

James' sending off means that she will miss at least the next game, should England progress to the quarter-finals. Unlike in English football, a red card for violent conduct is not an automatic three-match ban for Lauren James at the Women's World Cup.

FIFA will review that, though, so there is potential she misses the rest of the tournament, should FIFA deem the red card to be violent conduct. There is precedent earlier in the tournament of this happening, too, with FIFA upping Nigeria's Deborah Abiodun red card against Canada to three games. 

The Chelsea forward had impressed in the opening three games prior to her sending off, scoring three goals and assisting a further three times for her team-mates. 

More from England women and the Women's World Cup

Is this the greatest women's football advert ever? Orange in France have delivered a stunning piece of filmmaking for the Women's World Cup 2023.

Alex Greenwood has told FFT that she believes the development in the Lionesses recently is more mentality-focused than ability-based, while Christine Sinclair has spoken of her longevity. Intriguingly, Canada women’s head coach comes from a small town in County Durham – just like the men's – and FFT met Bev Priestman ahead of the tournament.

You can download the wallchart for the tournament, too.

Ryan Dabbs
Ryan Dabbs
Staff writer

Ryan is a staff writer for FourFourTwo, joining the team full-time in October 2022. He first joined Future in December 2020, working across FourFourTwo, Golf Monthly, Rugby World and Advnture's websites, before eventually earning himself a position with FourFourTwo permanently. After graduating from Cardiff University with a degree in Journalism and Communications, Ryan earned a NCTJ qualification to further develop as a writer while a Trainee News Writer at Future.