'I didn't want to risk red card,' Falcons' Alozie

Michelle Alozie, Super Falcons defender, has explained that she didn’t react angrily to Lauren James stamping on her during the round of 16 game at the FIFA Women’s World Cup because she didn’t want to risk getting a red card.

James, who plays club football for Chelsea, was shown a red card in the 87th minute following a VAR check for a stamp on Alozie in England’s 4-2 penalty win against Nigeria in the round of 16.

Speaking on the incident Channels TV Sports Tonight, on Tuesday, Alozie said James only apologized to her on social media, contrary to media reports.

After the game, James issued an apology on her Twitter account and was handed a two-game ban by FIFA.

Speaking on Channels, Alozie said, “No, she didn’t reach out to me; the apology was on Twitter and Instagram.”

On her reaction to the incident, Alozie who plays for Houston Dash in the United States, noted, “I think it was kind of funny how it all came about. After the game, obviously, I was really upset and wasn’t really looking at my phone. So, some of my teammates were like, ‘Michelle, you have to see this photo of you; maybe it would make you smile a little bit’ because I was kind of upset.

“My reaction was because I was on a yellow card, and I didn’t want to react so I don’t get evicted from the game. I just knew after her actions I didn’t have to do much.”