The Lionesses have issued a statement responding to Lauren James’ red card this past Monday after she stamped on Nigeria player, Michelle Alozie.
James had been one of the England women’s team‘s best players all tournament, registering three goals and three assists in as many games during the 2023 Women’s World Cup, but suffered a rare moment of madness when she decided to stamp on her opponent while on the ground.
Sarina Wiegman’s side went on to win the game 4-2 on penalties but very nearly could have been knocked out after being reduced to 10 players, with many comparing the ‘unacceptable’ and ‘foolish’ act to David Beckham’s back in 1998.
While little had come out from the England camp following the incident, the team has now issued a full statement, expressing Lauren‘s regret and assuring that they would accept whatever punishment FIFA ultimately hands down.
The official Lionesses statement on Lauren James’ red card.
“Lauren is really sorry for her actions which led to the red card and is full of remorse. It is wholly out of character for her”, said the England women’s team.
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“We will be supporting Lauren throughout and will be putting forward representation on her behalf. We fully respect FIFA‘s disciplinary process and will not be making any further comment until after any decision has been made.”
The England and Chelsea star, 21, was already been banned for the next game against Colombia in the quarter-finals on Saturday, 12 August at 11:30, but it has not been confirmed that she has been issued with a two-match ban, meaning she will miss the quarters and semi-final.
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If handed a three-match ban, it would see her miss the rest of the World Cup and the Lionesses will be without one of their best players. As for James herself, she apologised directly to the Nigerian international, who gave an admirable measured and reasonable response considering the circumstances.
The WSL forward assured that she is “sorry what happened” and promises to “learn from the experience”.
Whether or not England will make it all the way to the final for her make one last appearance in this tournament, especially following the Lionesses’ own condemnation of the behaviour, remains to be seen.
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All they can do is put it behind them and know that the country is well and truly behind them. Either way, we believe — it’s coming home.
Featured Image — Lionesses/Lauren James/BBC Sports (via Twitter)
Sport
Details released of Andy Burnham’s meetings with Manchester City owners while Mayor
Emily Sergeant
Details of Andy Burnham’s meetings with Manchester City owners during his tenure as Mayor of Greater Manchester have been released.
In case you need bringing up to speed on the situation a little first, Manchester City was found guilty back in September all of its charges related to the Premier League’s financial rules over a nine-season period, and on top of that, was also found guilty of the majority of charges in relation to its failure to co-operate with the League’s investigation.
According to the Premier League, the independent Commission found that Manchester City had arranged so-called ‘sham’ commercial deals with a number of its sponsors.
These were part of a disguised funding scheme – with those sponsors only required to pay a portion of the relevant sponsorship fees.
The remainder was then funded by Abu Dhabi United Group Investment & Development Ltd (ADUG), which owned the club.
The Commission also concluded, as quoted by the Premier League, that the club had ‘made concerted efforts to stop and frustrate the Premier League investigation’.
Within the past week or so, it has since come to light that now-Prime Minister Andy Burnham had dealings with Manchester City during his tenure as Greater Manchester Mayor, and Greater Manchester Combined Authority (GMCA) has now issued a public statement, giving details on the matter and what these ‘dealings’ entailed.
A spokesperson for GMCA confirmed that Burnham had a ‘formal meeting’ with Man City Chairman, Khaldoon Al Mubarak, back in October 2021.
The statement reads in full: “In October 2021, Andy Burnham, in his role as Mayor of Greater Manchester, had a formal meeting with Khaldoon Al Mubarak at the UK Government’s Global Investment Summit arranged by the Department for International Trade.
“In his capacity as Mayor, he was a guest of Manchester City FC at home matches on a small number of occasions, including attending Vincent Kompany’s testimonial match in September 2019, where he met the Chairman informally in the stands. These have been declared in the usual way.
“Also during his time as Mayor, representatives of Greater Manchester sporting clubs would routinely join business delegations as part of Mayoral international visits.
“This included representatives from Manchester United travelling to Austin and Dublin, Lancashire Cricket Club joining a delegation to India, and Manchester City FC staff supporting visits to China and Japan.”
Featured Image – Lauren Hurley / Number 10 Downing Street (Press Image via Flickr)
Sport
Multiple arrests made for ‘tragedy chanting’ and police officer assault as Man City defeated Liverpool
Emily Sergeant
Multiple people were arrested over the weekend as Manchester City defeated Liverpool in a Premier League clash.
Merseyside Police have confirmed that a total of 10 people were arrested during the policing operation at Liverpool’s home ground of Anfield as they hosted Manchester City on Sunday 11 October.
One man was arrested on suspicion of assaulting a police constable, five were on suspicion of tragedy chanting, one on suspicion of being drunk and disorderly, two for affray, and one on suspicion of throwing items onto the pitch.
Police are now appealing to the public, and are particularly looking to speak to witnesses of the assault of the officer.
At around 6:35pm, as fans left the stadium, a police officer sustained a ‘serious facial injury’ during the arrest of a man on Anfield Road, and was subsequently taken to hospital for treatment but is now recovering at home.
Investigating officers are now conducting enquiries, speaking to witnesses, and analysing CCTV and camera phone footage.
Chief Inspector Leanne Hobin said it’s ‘extremely disappointing’ that an officer has sustained a serious injury while carrying out their duty.
“I hope the arrests send a clear message and act as a deterrent to others,” Chief Inspector Hobin continued. “Anyone who engages in this abhorrent behaviour risks ending up in custody and getting a criminal record.
“Despite the actions of a few, the overwhelming majority of the 60,000 fans in attendance behaved well and I want to thank them for their co-operation.”
Manchester City ended up defeated Liverpool 3-0 during the Premier League clash at Anfield.
Danny Jones -
8th August 2023 
