Disgruntled football fans have levelled abuse at the wrong Laura Bassett after the footballer's freak own goal saw the England Women's team knocked out of the World Cup.
England fans mistook a US journalist with the same name for the international footballer as they criticised her performance on Twitter today.
The 31-year-old defender's unfortunate blunder in the semi-final match against Japan last night led to England's hopes of World Cup glory in tatters.
The Lionesses went on to lose the game 2-1 and will soon be returning home from Canada.
Angry tweeters subsequently sent abuse to another Laura Bassett, a journalist who reports on politics for the Huffington Post.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" lang="en"><p dir="ltr" lang="en">Guys I'm not Laura Bassett the soccer player. But feel free to continue tweeting at me it's kinda fun— Laura Bassett (@LEBassett) <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank" href="https://twitter.com/LEBassett/status/616411472533561346" class="body-link" data-vars-item-name="BL-13716-https://twitter.com/LEBassett/status/616411472533561346" data-vars-event-id="c23">July 2, 2015</a>
She was forced to clarify her identity this morning in an attempt to stop the barrage of abuse.
She wrote: "Guys I'm not Laura Bassett the soccer player. But feel free to continue tweeting at me it's kinda fun".
Women's World Cup: England v Japan
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She also retweeted the kindest tweets about the footballer to her 9,000 followers.
One said: "You played hard as hell, you have nothing to be ashamed of. Keep kicking butt. God Bless You."
Another wrote: "Your tears will water a thousand children's dreams."
England coach Mark Sampson today said his team's march to the last four of the World Cup should be the catalyst for major improvements in the game back home.
He told reporters: "What this team have done for the women's game back home, I know will have a lasting legacy, because the way this team has gone out, as hard as it is, will make them even bigger heroes."
