Lauren James stamps on rival in fresh moment of madness after World Cup red card
Chelsea's Lauren James was fortunate to escape a red card following another moment of madness similar to her petulant stamp at the Women's World Cup.
England star James was sent off against Nigeria in the last 16 clash during the summer tournament and missed the Lionesses ' next two matches due to suspension. James had been one of her country's star players in Australia and New Zealand when she recklessly kicked out at Nigeria's Michelle Alozie, earning her comparisons with David Beckham after his infamous red card against Argentina in 1998.
James faced significant criticism and backlash, including from England fans, and apologised for her conduct. Though it appears the Chelsea forward may not have completely learned her lesson after another controversial incident during Sunday's 4-1 defeat to Arsenal.
After winning a head against England team-mate and Arsenal star Lotte Wubben-Moy, James then went to tackle Lia Walti. Referee Rebecca Welch had blown up for a foul by James on Wubben-Moy, but James then lunged needlessly at Walti, bringing her studs down on the Arsenal midfielder's foot, which appeared to be on purpose.
Walti had already picked the ball up when James made contact, but immediately sank to the turf clutching her boot. Fortunately for James, ref Welch only brandished a yellow card.
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It was a sign of a frustrating afternoon for Chelsea, who were well beaten at the Emirates as Blues boss Emma Hayes admitted her side were "at their very worst" as the Women's Super League title race was blown wide open.
The Gunners put on a ruthless display in front of a record league crowd of 59,042, Alessia Russo scoring twice after Beth Mead and Amanda Ilestedt had given them control.
Chelsea did briefly threaten when Johanna Rytting-Kaneryd finished a swift counter attack to cancel out Mead’s opener, but in truth were second best throughout.
James leaves her foot in on Walti after the referee had pulled up play
The Chelsea star stamps her foot down on Walti's recklesslyHAVE YOUR SAY: Should James have been sent off? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below.
Any hope of a second half fightback was extinguished when a Russo penalty put the seal on a fabulous 4-1 win.
“That’s as bad as I’ve seen us for a long time,” Hayes admitted. “The better team won by a country mile.
“All phases of our play were poor. They bullied us. That is not us at our best today. That is us at our very worst.
“You have to get beaten, you can’t go a whole season unbeaten, there’s lots of top teams. But what you cannot do is give away three goals before the half and then give a mindless fourth. You’re giving it up.”
Arsenal boss Jonas Eidevall said his team gave their “strongest performance so far this season," as the result leaves the Gunners level with Chelsea on 22 points, with only one week to go before the winter break.
Despite the loss, Hayes insisted there is still a long way to go in the championship race. “Teams lose football matches,” she added. “We’ve lost a football match, it’s not the end of the world.
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“We haven’t lost the title today. We’ve lost three points.”
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