IFA on Thursday banned Lauren James for two international games after she was sent off for stepping on the back of Nigeria’s Michelle Alozie during the Round of 16 at Brisbane Stadium on Monday.
It means James can’t be selected for Saturday’s quarterfinal against Colombia in Sydney and will also be out of commission if the Lionesses advance to the semis.
Contrast this to the three game ban on to what FIFA did to the Nigeria player Abiodun for a mistaken challenge.
In the group-stage match between Nigeria and Canada, Deborah Abiodun was sent off after she unintentionally tackled Ashley Lawrence and hit her shin.
But FIFA upgraded the 19-year-old’s ban from a one-match ban to a three-match ban.
Reacting to the ban on social media, Pooja a sports Journalist said, “Deborah Abiodun’s red for unintentional tackle: 3-match ban by FIFA. Lauren James’s red for intentional stamp: 2-match ban by FIFA. So, James will play in the final if England gets there.”
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A fan, @greenaleole tweeted, “FIFA is ridiculous and awful but their disciplinary standards are based on how dangerous the action was considering that it’s even surprising they extended James’s ban from one game to two and they probably did that for how utterly unnecessary and intentional it was.”
Ayodele Solomon tweeted, “Where is the fair play in this??? Some of us know that FIFA bends its rules to favour some people.”
