Mary Earps says she told Wiegman she was rewarding Hampton’s ‘bad behaviour’ | OneFootball

Mary Earps says she protested to the Lionesses head coach, Sarina Wiegman, that “bad behaviour is being rewarded” when rival goalkeeper Hannah Hampton was restored to the England side.

In her autobiography All In, serialised exclusively in the Guardian, Earps says Hampton’s “behaviour behind the scenes had frequently risked derailing training sessions and team resources” during England’s triumph at the 2022 Euros.

The book, offering the fullest explanation of Earps’s decision to quit international football in May, is the first to reveal tensions inside the England women’s squad during an unprecedented three-year period of success including winning two European Championships and getting to a World Cup final. Earps is also candid about her struggles with weight, binge-eating and alcohol.

Earps played every game of the Euros in England in 2022 and the Women’s World Cup in Australia in 2023, when she was named goalkeeper of the tournament after saving a penalty in the final. She was named 2023 BBC Sports Personality of the Year. Hampton was a member of the squad for those tournaments but was dropped for a period after the 2022 Euros.

In an interview with the Guardian to accompany the serialisation, Earps says of Hampton: “I think we had different ideas of what being a teammate should be. I think there was a mismatch, a misalignment, of values.”

Asked to elaborate on what the disruptive behaviour was, Earps said: “I don’t want to go into the specifics because it’s not my place … She is a very good goalkeeper and I’ve tried to draw a line under all that. I have messaged her privately to say: ‘Look, no bad blood.’”

The Guardian revealed in October 2022 that Hampton was dropped by Wiegman because of her behaviour and attitude at England camps. Wiegman would not be drawn on the reasons, saying after the Guardian story: “She has to do something personal that I would not like to comment on.”

Hampton spoke later about the impact the story had on her and said she felt like quitting football. “It was harder to find that fight in me to prove people wrong, but somehow I managed it,” she told Elle in June. “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.”

Hampton returned to the squad in 2023. Earps writes that Wiegman consulted Earps about restoring Hampton. Earps says she told her it “doesn’t make me feel comfortable” but the England coach said “everyone deserves a second chance”.

Hampton went on to play some matches and in April 2024 Wiegman told Earps she planned to play Hampton in a Euros qualifier. “I don’t get it,” Earps says she told Wiegman. “It’s a qualifier match. And bad behaviour is being rewarded.”

In April 2025 Wiegman said Hampton was now her first-choice goalkeeper, leading to Earps dramatically retiring from international football shortly before this year’s Euros in Switzerland. The Lionesses retained the trophy with Hampton in a starring role.

Earps’s autobiography, published next week, covers Earps describing being bullied as a young player, criticism of her weight by coaches, and lows during lockdown which led to “shovelling down biscuits instead of meals” and binge-drinking vodka. Earps says she never came close to trying to take her life but thought of how she might end it “more often than I would have liked”.

She also talks about her partner Kitty, who lives with her in Paris while Earps plays for Paris Saint-Germain, and navigating difficulties with her parents, who struggled with Earps’s sexuality. She also reveals she has frozen her eggs in the hope of becoming a mother one day. “I’m 32 now, don’t look a day over 18! I’m going to play as long as I can, because I bloody love this game.”

In the UK and Ireland, Samaritans can be contacted on 116 123, or email jo@samaritans.org or jo@samaritans.ie. In the US, the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline is 1-800-273-8255. In Australia, the crisis support service Lifeline is 13 11 14. Other international helplines can be found at befrienders.org

Header image: [Photograph: Laura Stevens/The Guardian]