Fans 'too quick to judge' during Euros, says James
Lauren James received criticism as she struggled for form at Euro 2025, revealing it was in part due to suffering an injury.
Lauren James says some England fans were "too quick to judge" after she struggled to find form at Euro 2025.
The Lionesses lifted the Euros trophy at the end of July after beating Spain 3-1 on penalties following a 1-1 draw in extra time, becoming just the second team to retain the title, after Germany (1989 and 1991, six in a row between 1995 and 2013).
James had been an injury doubt in the lead up to the tournament, but was included in Sarina Wiegman's squad, being seen as a key figure in their title defence.
She started all six games at the Euros and scored twice for England, though she revealed she suffered an injury in the quarter-final against Sweden, and was subsequently unable to finish the last two matches, having to go off in both the semi-final and final.
"It was an amazing achievement, but during the last two games I wasn't able to help the team," James told BBC Sport.
"To also get negative comments, from fans and the public - sometimes people are too quick to judge.
"A lot of the time, fans don't know what is going on; they only know what is in front of them.
"They don't know what someone is dealing with, what is going on in their life. I always say to the fans, be mindful, you don't know what someone is dealing with out there. You could just be adding on to it.
"No player goes into a game or into a season thinking I'm not going to try. It was a Euros; they don't come around often. You could have one leg hanging off, I will still tell you that I'm going to try to play."
The injury James suffered against Sweden is set to keep her out of the beginning of Chelsea's Women's Super League campaign, having missed much of last season, too.
The Blues won a domestic treble in their first season under Sonia Bompastor, though James featured in just nine of their WSL matches, netting three goals and registering one assist.
"I was obviously fighting to be fit for the Euros, then suffered another injury in the quarter-finals, and tried to play on," she added.
"Then people assume you're not trying, but at the end of the day I'm in a ridiculous amount of pain, which caused me to come off at half-time in the semi-finals and before half-time in the final."
There is no return date for James, with Chelsea beginning their WSL campaign against Manchester City on Friday.
