England star Lauren James has publicly apologised for standing on her opponent during the Lionesses' last-16 World Cup win over Nigeria and vowed to learn from the experience.
The 21-year-old was sent off for standing on the back of Nigeria defender Michelle Alozie with three minutes of normal time remaining in Brisbane.
England survived the dismissal to advance to the quarter-finals, winning 4-2 on penalties after the game finished goalless following extra time.
In response to a tweet from Alozie, James posted: “All my love and respect to you. I am sorry for what happened.
“Also, for our England fans and my team-mates, playing with and for you is my greatest honour and I promise to learn from my experience.”
The incident resulted in an automatic one-match ban for James that could be extended to three games.
Her World Cup fate will now be decided by FIFA’s disciplinary committee - a decision which could see her miss the rest of the tournament even if the Lionesses reach a first-ever final.
Although the Chelsea forward's England stars rallied round her in support, others were more critical of James arguing she could have hampered the team's victory.
Urging others to offer James some grace, Alozie had tweeted: "Abeg, rest. We are playing on the world’s stage.
"This game is one of passion, insurmountable emotions, and moments. All respect for Lauren James."
Earlier, England defender Lucy Bronze revealed she made a post-match beeline to console her “upset” teammate following the incident.
Bronze said: “Obviously she’s going to be disappointed in herself. I went straight off the pitch after the game to make sure she was OK.
“Obviously she was a little bit upset and rightfully so and 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.'”
England will now face Colombia in Saturday’s quarter-final after the world number 25 side beat Jamaica 1-0 on Tuesday to reach the last eight for the first time in their history.
Captain Millie Bright insists England have already moved on from learning they would lose James for at least Saturday’s World Cup quarter-final.
The Lionesses were boosted by the return of Keira Walsh against Nigeria – a comeback from a knee injury few imagined possible after she was removed from the pitch on a stretcher in the first half of England’s second group match, a 1-0 triumph over Denmark.
Scans revealed the issue was not as serious as first suspected and Walsh managed 120 minutes against Nigeria, including the nervy 30 minutes of 10-woman extra time to force penalties, the result sealed 4-2 for England by Chloe Kelly’s emphatic spot-kick.
Though boss Sarina Wiegman’s switch to a 3-5-2 formation in Walsh’s absence seemed to spark the Lionesses into life in their 6-1 group-stage victory over China, her side did not play as well against Nigeria with three at the back, and in fact looked more controlled when they were short-handed.
[Itv]