Lauren James sent off for stamping on opponent during England’s World Cup clash

England star Lauren James was sent off for stamping on the back of an opponent during the Lionesses’ Women’s World Cup last-16 tie against Nigeria.

The 21-year-old was shown a straight red card for violent conduct in the 86th minute, with the match 0-0, after stamping on the back of Nigeria player Michelle Alozie.

James was initially shown a yellow card by the referee, but VAR recommended a review and the yellow card was upgraded to red after the act of petulance.

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James had been trying to lead a counter-attack when she was dispossessed by Alozie. Believing she was fouled, James appealed to the referee and when she did not get the free-kick, left her studs on Alozie’s back when she got back to her feet.

The forward has been England’s player of the World Cup but was left frustrated after Nigeria marked her out of the game. It left England with 10 players going into extra time of the knockout stage match.

There were shades of Wayne Rooney’s red card against Portugal during the 2006 World Cup and David Beckham’s sending off against Argentina at the 1998 World Cup.

It was England’s first red card under Sarina Wiegman - and the first since Millie Bright was sent off in the 2019 World Cup semi-final defeat to the USA.

Speaking on the BBC, former England striker Ellen White said James was frustrated after she was marked out of the game by Nigeria’s Halimatu Ayinde.

“It’s disappointing,” White said. “She was frustrated during the game and she lashed out at the Nigeria player. There was no need for it.”

Arsenal manager Jonas Eidevall suggested James was fatigued after playing in England’s last two matches, and questioned Wiegman’s lack of substitutions. Wiegman had yet to make a change when James was sent off.

“It’s a decision of fatigue,” Eidevall said. “You could see in the game that she was making some wrong decisions, on and off the ball. England could have been more proactive with their subs.”