Chelsea boss Sonia Bompastor defends Millie Bright over refusal to comment on Hannah Hampton-Mary Earps saga | OneFootball

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Chelsea boss Sonia Bompastor has defended Millie Bright over the defender’s decision not to give her opinion on the saga involving teammate Hannah Hampton and Mary Earps.

Earps and Hampton have dominated headlines over the last week after comments made by the former England No.1 in her new autobiography.

The Paris Saint-Germain goalkeeper said Wiegman rewarded ‘bad behaviour’ by reintegrating Hampton into the Lionesses squad in 2023.

About Hampton, Earps wrote: “Her behaviour behind the scenes at the Euros (Euro 2022) had frequently risked derailing training sessions and team resources.”

Although several former England players have addressed the topic, Bright and Rachel Daly decided not to comment on the situation.

This has led to some criticism on social media towards Bright not defending her Chelsea teammate.

What did Sonia Bompastor say about Millie Bright?

During her pre-match press conference ahead of Arsenal vs Chelsea, Sonia Bompastor was asked about the decision by Millie Bright to not speak on the saga involving her teammate Hannah Hampton.

The Chelsea head coach understood why some fans wanted Bright to give her opinion, but didn’t feel it was necessary.

She said: “The most important thing for us as a group is to know exactly how we support our players, and I think internally this week has been a great week.

“Everyone knows where to stand. I understand people from the outside want to know what happens internally, and I respect that.

“But for me, the most important thing is that the team is ready for tomorrow and we are focusing on the game. I’m quite happy with where we are as a group and as a team.”

Bright’s approach was different to Bompastor, who defended Hampton after the critical comments from Earps.

Bompastor said earlier this week: “I just feel like with what I read in terms of comments coming from Mary Earps, it is not acceptable not to show respect to your teammate or your manager.

“We are talking about Hannah, but I am also raising my voice for Sarina (Wiegman). I just think when you use some words saying something about someone who won the European Championship three times in a row, you should probably think about it before you speak.”

On Hampton, she added: “Hannah has been fine with us and all the club, myself, the staff and the players are all behind her.”

Why did Millie Bright refuse to comment on Hannah Hampton and Mary Earps?

Bright and Rachel Daly refused to comment on the saga on their podcast ‘Daly Brightness’.

Daly said: “I’m sure everyone is going to want us to touch on the Hannah and Mary saga.”

Bright added: “We’ve seen your tweets, we know you want us to have a gossip, we’ve seen them all.” Daly then jumped back in saying: “We’re not here to gossip. Our podcast isn’t about that.

“Everyone is going to have their own opinion, everyone is gonna say what they want. But our podcast is about spreading positivity, spreading joy. Think what you want but we’re not commenting on it.”

What have other people said about Hampton and Earps?

Several former England internationals have addressed the saga surrounding Hampton and Earps.

Ellen White said she was uneasy with the comments by the former England No.1 in her autobiography, ‘All In’.

Fara Williams, in her TNT Sports column, felt Earps should have provided more explanation to avoid confusion.

She said: “If Mary is going to be open and honest about the situation, she needs to go into more detail about the supposed bad behaviour rather than leave it up in the air.”

Hampton’s former teammate, Ruesha Littlejohn admitted the Chelsea goalkeeper could be “difficult” and a “pain in the a***” at times.