Lionesses legend Mary Earps has revealed she told Sarina Wiegman that ‘bad behaviour was being rewarded’ after her goalkeeping rival Hannah Hampton was recalled the England squad.
Earps dramatically stepped away from the England set-up just five weeks before this summer’s European Championships, after losing her first team spot to Hampton, who is eight years her junior.
The PSG shot-stopper, 32, opened up on the details of her explosive England exit in her new autobiography ‘All In’, which will be released next week but has been serialised in extracts by The Guardian.
In the book, Earps hits out at Hampton’s poor behaviour during England’s triumphant Euro 2022 campaign, claiming it ‘frequently risked derailing training sessions and team resources’.
Twice named the best goalkeeper in the world, Earps was England’s established No 1 goalkeeper during Euro 2022 and the 2023 World Cup, while Hampton acted as the Lionesses’ back-up.
However, in October 2022, months after the Euros, Hampton’s behaviour on the training ground made headlines after it was claimed she had been dropped by Wiegman amid concerns over her attitude and conduct.
Mary Earps (right) has said that Hannah Hampton’s ‘bad behaviour’ was rewarded in her new autobiography. Pictured watching her Lionesses rival winning the Women’s Yashin Trophy
Earps was England’s established first-choice goalkeeper before being dropped for Hampton
Sarina Wiegman recalled Hampton to the England squad in 2023 despite previously dropping her amid reported concerns over the young goalkeeper’s attitude and conduct
Referencing the incident in her book, Earps said: ‘It affected us all in a domino effect to an extent that was extremely unusual in a successful elite team environment.’
Hampton, 24, later reflected on the fallout and told Elle magazine in June: ‘It was harder to find that fight in me to prove people wrong, but somehow I managed it.
‘I had all my friends and my family around me at the time to guide me in the right direction and keep me going. It’s worked out for the best – I’ve got a lot to thank them for.’
Earps, who does not specify what Hampton’s behaviour entailed, claims in the autobiography that Wiegman consulted her when Hampton was recalled to the national squad in 2023 — and told her that ‘everyone deserves a second chance’.
Upon hearing that Hampton would be starting for England in a key Euro 2025 qualifier against the Republic of Ireland in April 2024, Earps claims she told Wiegman: ‘I don’t get it. It’s a qualifier match. And bad behaviour is being rewarded.’
A year later, in April 2025, Wiegman named Hampton her first-choice goalkeeper over Earps, a decision which prompted the former Manchester United star to announce her international retirement just weeks later.
According to Earps, she was told that Hampton was ‘a little bit ahead of her’ and that there was ‘nothing she had done wrong’.
The goalkeeper goes on to detail how she was left ‘extremely disappointed’ by the decision — and how she told Wiegman that she ‘could have been more direct and honest’ in her assessment of the situation.
In April 2025, Wiegman made Hampton her first-choice goalkeeper over Earps (above in 2023)
Earps claims Wiegman told her that Hampton was ‘a little bit ahead of her’ in the pecking order
Hampton was an integral part of the Lionesses’ triumphant Euro 2025 campaign last summer
It is claimed Wiegman disagreed and responded by saying that she was communicating openly and had only made her mind up recently.
‘That sounded like bulls*** to me,’ Earps writes.
The memoir provides a full account of Earps’ decision to retire from international football in May, shedding light on tensions within the England squad during their dominant three-year spell, which included consecutive European Championship victories and a run to the 2023 World Cup final.
