James was shown a red card for stamping on Nigeria’s Michelle Alozie in the last 16 contest, which England won on penalties.
The offence carried an automatic one-match ban and could have been extended to three games, but the Chelsea star has received a two-match suspension, meaning she could still appear in the final if England get there.
The Lionesses take on Colombia in the quarter-finals on Saturday and Wiegman is unruffled by the news that James will not only miss that game, but the semi if England progress.
‘That’s the decision that’s made, of course that’s not up to me,’ Wiegman told a press conference on Friday. ‘It’s two games, that’s a fact for us and we respect that punishment. We take it from here and just hope we get through.’
Goalkeeper Mary Earps was asked how James was handling the fallout of her ban, especially disappointing for her, her teammates and England fans after the superb form she had shown so far in the tournament.
‘Lauren’s doing fine,’ said the England ‘keeper. ‘Obviously what we she did was wrong and she knows it was wrong and apologised for it publicly and now she faces the consequences.
‘As a team we stick together and stand behind her. She will support the team absolutely while she serves that [ban].’
England also released a statement on Tuesday which read: ‘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.
‘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.’
England and Colombia meet at 11.30am UK time on Saturday.
MORE : England learn Lauren James fate as Fifa confirm length of Women’s World Cup ban
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