Lioness divide as players continue spat

England manager Sarina Wiegman has been given an unexpected headache ahead of the next round of international fixtures after a spat between Chelsea’s Lauren James and Manchester United’s Mille Turner threatened to cause a split in the squad.

Turner appeared to mock James on her Instagram account after Manchester United’s 2-1 victory over Chelsea in an FA Cup semi-final last weekend.

Turner, who was alongside James in the last England squad for the games against Sweden and Ireland, posted a picture of the Chelsea star getting her in a headlock as they tussled over retrieving the ball. The incident happened immediately after James had scored on the stroke of half-time and wanted to ensure the game restarted swiftly, with Turner looking to slow things down.

In celebrating United’s passage to the final, Turner posted the picture on Instagram with the caption “KAMMOONNNN”. She later re-posted that image onto her story, writing: “See you at Wembley my reds.”

That has led to claims on social media that James had responded to the perceived jibe by unfollowing Turner, as well as her Manchester United team-mates Ella Toone and Mary Earps on Instagram.

All four are England team-mates and Wiegman will need to ensure there is no lingering animosity when they meet up for the crucial European championship qualifiers against France in the summer.

“We don’t look at Instagram, she doesn’t have it, so I don’t know. I haven’t had the conversation about Instagram with her, we haven’t talked about it,” Chelsea manager Emma Hayes said.