Exclusive: Ex-FIFA ref reacts to Spain gesture immediately after Lauren James injury
Spain midfielder Aitana Bonmati deserves praise for her show of sportsmanship during Sunday’s Uefa Women’s Euro final against England on Sunday, according to Keith Hackett.
England star Lauren James put the ball out of play after suffering an injury shortly before half-time, forcing a substitution from Sarina Wiegman, who replaced her with Chloe Kelly.
Bonmati received the ball from the subsequent throw-in, and while Kelly was taking action to defend a potential Spain attack, the Barcelona star instead put the ball out of play and ready for England to receive possession back.
Hackett exclusively told Football Insider that Bonmati should be lauded for her actions.
Hackett said: “The Spanish player deserves praise for her action.
“It was an act of sportsmanship that we should applaud,” said the former PGMOL chief and ex-FIFA official.
Hackett praises women’s set-piece conduct
Another feature of Sunday’s final that caught Hackett’s eye was the clean nature of corners.
So often in the men’s game, set-piece situations are disrupted and take an age to be taken, with referees needing to intervene with players grabbing and shirt-pulling.
But there was very little of that on show on Sunday, with the two sets of players instead fairly battling to get to the ball first.
“What should also be praised is the fact that at corner kicks we have not witnessed any of the usual grappling, blocking offences that appear in the men’s game,” Hackett added.
Chloe Kelly’s immediate impact
Kelly has been the woman for the big occasion for England as this tournament has gone on.
The Arsenal forward was a 78th-minute substitute in the quarter-final against Sweden and provided an immediate impact, assisting Lucy Bronze for England’s first goal as they came from 2-0 down to force a draw and, eventually, a penalty shootout victory — which she also netted in.
Kelly then sealed legendary status with a goal from the bench in the 119th minute as England beat Italy 2-1 in the semi-final — a moment that will go down in Lionesses folklore.
| 2025 Uefa Women’s Euro stats | Chloe Kelly |
| Appearances (starts) | 6 (0) |
| Goals | 1 |
| Assists | 2 |
And Kelly didn’t need long to get going on Sunday, receiving the ball on the left wing just after half-time and delivering a perfect cross onto the head of Arsenal teammate Alessia Russo, who headed home England‘s equaliser and renewed hope that they could retain their Euros title.
England did just that, once again thanks in no small part to Kelly, who performed further heroics by scoring the winning penalty in a dramatic shootout win for the Lionesses.
Everybody wants to be the starter, but Kelly has taken brilliantly to the role of super sub at these Euros and England quite simply wouldn’t have won the title without her.