Mary Earps says she never meant to “intentionally hurt” anyone as she hit back at Chelsea manager Sonia Bompastor’s claims that she showed a lack of “respect” to Hannah Hampton following her comments about the goalkeeper. The former England shot-stopper took to social media to defend herself after she was also accused of disrespecting Lionesses boss Sarina Wiegman.
Earps did not feel 'comfortable' with Hampton recall
In an excerpt from her upcoming autobiography, , which is being serialised by Earps revealed she criticised Wiegman’s decision to bring Hampton back into the England fold in 2023. Behind then-no. 1 goalkeeper Earps in the pecking order, Hampton was an unused substitute when the Lionesses won Euro 2022, before being left out of subsequent squads, reportedly due to poor behaviour, although Wiegman said it was for “something personal” at the time.
Saying she did not feel “comfortable” with Hampton’s recall, Earps wrote in her autobiography: "I felt protective of the good energy we now had in goalkeeper training and the morale of the wider team. Bad behaviour is being rewarded.”
While Earps remained as England’s first-choice goalkeeper for the 2023 Women’s World Cup, saving a penalty in the final as Wiegman’s side lost 1-0 to Spain, she was usurped by Hampton in 2024, with the Chelsea goalkeeper going on to help her country win Euro 2025 in the summer. Earps announced her retirement from international football before the start of the tournament.
AdvertisementGetty Images SportBompastor leapt to Hampton's defence after Earps' comments
Earps’ comments came less than 24 hours before Hampton kept a clean sheet in Chelsea’s 2-0 victory over London City Lionesses in the Women’s Super League on Saturday afternoon.
After the game, Blues head coach Bompastor was quick to defend the 24-year-old, saying in her post-match press conference: "I think Hannah is fine, but of course it's tough because Hannah is an athlete but also a person. That's never nice to hear these comments.
"Since I joined Chelsea she has grown so much and is such a professional athlete and also a good person. We have a really good relationship together and I want to show her my support in this situation."
Getty Images SportChelsea manager also came to the aid of Lionesses boss Wiegman
Bompastor also told Earps to “think about it before you speak” as she came to the aid of Wiegman – a manager who has won three successive European Championships across spells with the Netherlands and England.
"I would also like to say it's more about respect,” added Bompastor. “With what I read in terms of the comments coming from Mary Earps, it's not acceptable to not show respect to your team-mates or managers. We are talking about Hannah, but also I want to raise my voice for Sarina.
"When you use some words saying something about someone who won the Euros three times in a row, you should probably think about it before you speak. Hannah has been fine with us and all the club – myself, the staff and the players – are all behind her. If you look at what Hannah said in the previous comments about Mary Earps then what Mary is saying about her now, one of them is class and Hannah is the class one.”
Earps takes to social media to hit back at Bompastor
However, Earps – now of Paris Saint-Germain – fired back at Bompastor on Saturday evening, arguing she was being misrepresented after she also labelled Hampton a “very good goalkeeper” in a separate interview with .
Writing on Instagram, Earps said: “It's not easy to be as vulnerable and open as I have been in the book, and I understand that my honesty and rawness will divide opinion. That's ok, everyone is entitled to feel what they feel and I respect that.
"Things have escalated really quickly today, women pitted against each other. It's gut-wrenching to be portrayed as someone you're not.
"I know that the negative is what gets clicks but it's sad that that's the only thing being discussed – I also said some really positive things and gave credit where it's due.
"I know that people like to create drama, but please remember, this book is about my life and my experiences.
"This is not a soap opera, this is real life. Pulling out a paragraph, or a sentence here and there is not a reflection of the contents of the book. Please see through the headlines, and read it in its entirety.
"I would never intentionally say things to hurt someone. That's not my style.
“People can experience the same situation differently, this is not about heroes and villains, just different perspectives – multiple things can be true at once.”