The England forward was lucky not to be sent off against Arsenal on Sunday, in a similar incident for which she saw red at the Women’s World Cup
As the clock ticked into the 70th minute on Sunday, there were few that saw any way back for Chelsea. The Blues were 3-1 down at the Emirates Stadium, they had been since half-time, and they were not really giving Arsenal much reason to believe that the win was in doubt. It was a frustrating afternoon for the reigning Women's Super League champions, and it was very close to getting even worse.
That frustration was clearly bothering Lauren James, and when she fouled Arsenal defender Lotte Wubben-Moy while winning a header, she did something in the aftermath that could’ve seen her dismissed there and then. After coming down from the aerial duel, she moved towards the ball, which had bounced towards Lia Walti and was being picked up by the Swiss international, and left her foot in on her opponent.
There wasn’t much fuss about it at first. Walti drew attention to the action, which saw James drag her boot down the midfielder's shin and onto her foot, though probably did the England star a favour by not making more of it. Otherwise, apart from the referee spotting it and booking the Chelsea star, no one seemed to bat an eyelid.
But when the replay came through, the ‘oooo’ from former England defender Gilly Flaherty, on co-commentary duties for for this game, said it all. "That's what we're talking about with Lauren James,” she said. “We saw it at the World Cup. It's those things that you do off the ball, where it's the frustration, you don't need to do that, you really don't. That's deliberate; it's not accidental. She just doesn't need to do it."
And that’s exactly it. James has done this before, when she saw red at the World Cup earlier this year for deliberately stepping on Nigeria’s Michelle Alozie in England’s last-16 clash in Brisbane. It almost cost her team that day, with the Lionesses needing to hang on and get through a penalty shootout to beat the African nation.
The feeling and the comments at the time were that James would learn from the incident. Indeed, she herself said she would. So why did it happen again on Sunday?
Getty ImagesGenerational talent
Defeat at the Emirates was a blow to Chelsea. A win would’ve seen them open up a six-point gap at the top of the WSL table with just one game to go before the winter break. But they were lucky that it wasn’t worse and that they did not lose the talismanic James for several games because of this needless incident, especially with their first league match back after Christmas being a tricky clash with Manchester United.
The 22-year-old has been in absolutely electric form this season, scoring six goals in eight games to put herself right up there in the race for the Golden Boot. She’s arguably never been playing better than she is right now, and those performances have helped the Blues make a strong start to their title defence.
Indeed, just before Chelsea's short journey to the Emirates, team-mate Jess Carter told of James: "From ball control to dribbling and finishing, I don't really know many other players that can do what she can. She has the attributes to be one of the best in the world."
AdvertisementGettyFrustration boils over
However, we didn’t see much of James’ free-flowing talent at the weekend. We didn’t see it in England’s clash with Nigeria, either. That’s what the two games, which featured these two petulant incidents, have in common.
In the World Cup, the young forward was well-marshalled by Nigeria and completely marked out of the game before her frustration boiled over and led to the stamp on Alozie. Against Arsenal, she was also totally unable to make an impact on the game as the Gunners raced into a commanding lead. This isn’t to excuse James’ actions, but to understand why they are happening, with her frustration at being unable to get involved and help her team clearly leading to these stupid acts.
It’s nothing new to see an extraordinarily-talented footballer allow their disappointment at what is happening on the pitch get the better of them, especially when they are young. The most infamous occasions in English football are of David Beckham and Wayne Rooney, both wonderful players and both still only in the early years of their careers when they were dismissed in their darkest World Cup hours. However, it’s massively, massively important for James to understand that she cannot continue to let these moments occur.
Getty‘I promise to learn’
After all, when we were here last time, during the World Cup, James said that she would learn. In a message on social media to Alozie, who was on the receiving end of that incident in Australia, the Chelsea star said: “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.”
England head coach Sarina Wiegman reiterated that, describing the forward’s red card as “a huge lesson [for her] to learn”. Carter, her team-mate with Chelsea and the Lionesses, said it would be “lessons learned” and that “she’ll do better next time”. But that is the concern, that James was dismissed for something similar only a few months ago and, despite all those comments, it has happened again.
Getty ImagesNo excuse for abuse
James, though, is a human being, and human beings make mistakes. They also feel the emotional consequences of them and there’s no doubt she’ll have been disappointed in herself in light of Sunday’s game, just as she was at the World Cup.
Unfortunately, it seems that some people forget that when players commit these regrettable actions. The release of the Beckham documentary earlier this year, which went behind the scenes of the fall out of the Manchester United icon’s red card at the 1998 World Cup, was a timely reminder of just how brutal the aftermath of such incidents can be for footballers, particularly in the higher-profile men’s game.
Sadly, James was subject to racist abuse in the wake of Sunday’s loss. It’s something that, unfortunately, the forward has had to deal with previously and is a reflection of the toxicity that exists on social media in football, and overall within society still, in 2023.
There is absolutely no justification for that – or any – kind of racism. It’s a terrible shame that such a thing even has to be said. James is a human being who made a mistake. It’s imperative that people remember that and do not tear her down. If we’re talking about learning from mistakes, then that’s something that those within football could really take on board.