England star Lauren James has issued a public apology to Nigeria’s Michelle Alozie following her sending off during the Lionesses Women’s World Cup win on Monday.

The attacker – the sister of Chelsea and England ace Reece James – angrily stood on Michelle Alozie following a collision between the pair.

The 21-year-old was sent off in the 87th minute after the referee opted to upgrade the decision from a yellow card to red, following an intervention from VAR officials and a lengthy check on the pitchside monitor.

Responding to Alozie, who made her own statement on social media, James tweeted: “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.”

Comparisons were made after the game to David Beckham’s infamous sending off at the World Cup in 1998 when he kicked out at Argentina’s Diego Simeone, attracting criticism across the country from angry fans.

But Alozie has urged supporters not to chastise James for her brief lapse in discipline, and insisted she had no problem with her English counterpart after the incident.

“Abeg, rest,” she said. “We are playing on the world’s stage. This game is one of passion, insurmountable emotions, and moments. All respect for Lauren James.”

James’ sending off left England in the lurch for the final period of the match as the game finished goalless across the regulation 90 minutes, with another 30 minutes in extra-time also failing to produce a goal. Prior to the Nigeria match, she had contributed to six goals in just three matches.

But despite being a player down, Sarina Wiegman’s side managed to hold on to take the game to penalties – and it was there where they showed their class. Chloe Kelly provided the winning spot-kick to win the shootout 4-2 in at the Suncorp Stadium, booking England’s place in the quarter-finals, where they will face Colombia.

After the game, Wiegman refused to single out James after describing it as a ‘split-second’ error.

“She’s young,” replied the England boss. “This is just a split second and she doesn’t want to harm anyone. It’s later on in the game, so you get a little bit tired too.

“It’s such an intense and emotional game that in a split second where you just don’t control your emotions, then things happen. Of course, she didn’t want to do that, but before she’d even realised it had happened. Very unfortunate. She will absolutely learn from it.”