Watch: No red card for Lauren James despite apparent stamp in North London derby

Watch: No red card for Lauren James despite apparent stamp in North London derby
Alanna Cunnane
Alanna Cunnane

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.

Advertisement

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.

Advertisement

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.

“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.

Sign Up to our newsletter

Stay in the game! Get top women's sports stories, event updates, and exclusive competitions delivered to your inbox weekly!

Processing your request...

Follow us for more

Sign Up to our newsletter

Stay in the game! Get top women's sports stories, event updates, and exclusive competitions delivered to your inbox weekly!

Processing your request...

Follow us for more

Advertisement