Tempers tend to boil over in the North London derby between Arsenal and Chelsea and the weekend wasn’t any different, but there was no red card for Lauren James despite a suspected stamp on Lia Walti.
With around 70 minutes surpassed, James was seen to contend for a high ball with her England team-mate Lotte Wubben-Moy, before lunging in on Walti.
Was Lauren James lucky not to receive a red card after this incident with Lia Walti? 💭🔴 pic.twitter.com/8oNTHdM3Le
— Sky Sports WSL (@SkySportsWSL) December 11, 2023
In the incident James’ studs can be witnessed to meet Walti’s foot despite the ball already being in the Arsenal star’s hands, and therefore absent from the feet James was tackling, as a result.
This was because referee Rebecca Welch had already blown her whistle to signal a stoppage for the altercation with Wubben-Moy.
She only received a yellow card for the episode, jolting observers both at the ground and online into discussion around whether a red card should have been shown.
😳🔴 Lauren James sent off for England vs Nigeria after this stamp on Michelle Alozie! pic.twitter.com/nG9CiVdZ0P
— EuroFoot (@eurofootcom) August 7, 2023
James has a previous history of displaying similar bursts of outrage in tense games, for example during England’s last 16 clash with Nigeria at the Women’s World Cup.
There the midfielder was shown a red card for a stamp on the back of Michelle Alozie, resulting in a suspension of two games, England’s quarter and semi final fixtures.
No red card for Lauren James , reaction from players and managers
After the game had concluded 4-1 in Arsenal’s favour yesterday, the incident was the subject of much post match discussion.
Jonas Eidevall’s comment on it: “I saw it but I don’t think I can really comment on it. We had six yellow cards, they had one in a game where it’s very even from a foul perspective. It is what it is.”
— Emily Keogh (@emilyskeogh) December 10, 2023
“All good, all good, all good. That happens, that’s part of football,” Walti herself said, while her manager, Jonas Eidevall also refrained from expanding too much on it.
““I saw it but I don’t think I can really comment on it,” he said.
“We had six yellow cards, they had one in a game where it’s very even from a foul perspective. It is what it is,” he added.
Chelsea manager Emma Hayes was also asked about her thoughts on the occurrence..
“No, I didn’t see anything,” she said.
Emma Hayes on the LJ incident with Lia Walti: “No, I didn’t see anything."
— Emma Sanders (@em_sandy) December 10, 2023