For a player who relied on England head coach Sarina Wigman’s second chance to set her career on the path to global success and glory, Mary Earps should be best placed to understand what it’s like to come back from the cold.
Surely in most walks of life people should be given the chance to right the wrongs of the past and be given the opportunity to advance in their chosen careers?
That makes Earps’ revealing comments in her soon-to-be-published autobiography ‘All In’, which lifts the lid on tensions with England No 1 Hannah Hampton, all the more surprising and disappointing and has led to a backlash on social media.
Earps said she felt Wigman was “rewarding bad behavior” by impeaching Hampton. Hampton, then 21, was left out of the Lionesses squad after their Euro 2022 glory due to, according to Earps, “behaviour behind the scenes that often put him at risk of bringing training and team resources to a standstill”.
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The Athletic’s Megan Feringa explains why former England goalkeeper Mary Earps has decided to open up about the tensions between her and former team-mate Hannah Hampton.
Former Manchester United goalkeeper Earps, who joined PSG last summer, began to lose control of the England No.1 shirt last spring when Hampton was handed the start in the Euro 2025 qualifier against Sweden.
It didn’t go well with Earps, the 32-year-old reveals in her book: “I don’t understand. It’s a qualifying match. And bad behavior is rewarded.”
Earps has already achieved remarkable success wearing the No. 1 jersey.
From leading the wicket at Wigman’s post-match press conference following his Euro 2022 success, dominating the Lionesses’ run to the 2023 World Cup finals, pulling off a remarkable penalty save in the final against Spain, winning the Golden Glove award and taking on the power of Nike by questioning why the goalkeeper is not available to buy an England shirt.
Mary Earps played in every game as England won the Euro 2022 title
It culminated in her huge win for BBC Sports Personality 2023. It really did seem like everything she touched turned to gold.
However, Earps’ journey to becoming one of the best players in the world and idealized by young girls across the country would not have been possible without Wiegman’s support and faith when she first took the job in England.
Former England manager Phil Neville dropped Earps in March 2020 and then suspended him. This left Earps at her lowest ebb, and in a further excerpt from her book, which she publishes The Guardianshe reveals her struggles with food, alcohol and isolation during the Covid quarantine.
Sarina Wigman believed in Mary Earps – when others, including herself, did not
It got to the point where Earps was thinking about quitting football, such was her mental state.
Wiegman hasn’t given up on Earps though, ending her two years in the international wilderness by including her in her first England squad in September 2021.
At the time, Earps spoke of a “wild” turnaround. “It definitely feels different this time. I’m a little older and a little more experienced. The experience I went through taught me a lot of things, gave me a different perspective on a lot of things.”
Earps became an established, experienced member of Wigman’s inner circle. That was until things began to change when she lost control of the England No.1 shirt and was informed that Hampton was “a little ahead of her” and would be her No.1 in the future.
It was a position she earned at Euro 2025 this summer with an Earps-esque performance – saving two man-of-the-match penalties in the final shoot-out as England defended their crown and won the 2025 Trophy at the prestigious Ballon d’Or in September.
Hannah Hampton won the award for the best goalkeeper at the Ballon d’Or
Erps should probably have been in Switzerland this summer, not only as a back-up to Hampton, but also as an experienced leader in the team to help the younger members. But she wasn’t.
The announcement of her international retirement just five weeks before the tournament shook the team to its core. In hindsight, and now with Earps’ harsh comments, it probably made for a more cohesive team, but it still worked for a player who was unhappy about losing her spot on the team.
Being the No. 2 goalkeeper at any club is a tough role, especially once you’ve climbed to the top of the tree, but there will always be challenges and difficult personalities to navigate.
Hampton has so far stuck to her lawyer in response to Earps’ explosive comments, but her Chelsea manager, Sonja Bompastor, was quick to defend her No. 1 position.
“I’d also like to say it’s more about respect. With what I’ve read in terms of Mary Earps’ comments, it’s not acceptable to not show respect to your teammates or managers. We’re talking about Hannah, but I also want to raise my voice for Sarin.”
“When you say something about someone who has won the Euros three times in a row, you should probably think about it before you speak. Hannah has been fine with us and the whole club – me, the staff and the players – are behind her.”
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This is how Sky Sports’ Anton Tolloui reported Mary Earps’ shock retirement from international football five weeks ahead of this summer’s Euros
Of course, to boost book sales, you’d expect spite, outspoken comments, and the like from any autobiography—and Earps is clearly no different.
Following her comments about Hampton and the subsequent backlash on social media, Earps released a statement on Instagram saying she was misrepresented and did not intend to “intentionally hurt” anyone. However, few will sympathize since it is her autobiography, written in her own words, with the stories she wants to tell to convey her side of things.
She wrote: “It’s not easy to be as vulnerable and open as I was in the book, and I understand that my honesty and bluntness will divide opinion. That’s okay, everyone has a right to feel what they feel and I respect that.”
“Things have escalated very quickly today, women pitted against each other. It’s heartbreaking to be portrayed as someone you’re not.”
It’s no surprise that there is animosity and conflict in most football locker rooms across the country. It’s a sport.
It is also good for the growth of women’s football to have competitiveness and rivalry – but not to cross the line.
Unfortunately for Earps, who did so much to expand the game’s audience and role model to many, she took her criticism too far.