Former Lionesses goalkeeper Mary Earps says she told England manager Sarina Wiegman that Hannah Hampton’s “bad behaviour is being rewarded” when her rival for the No 1 position was recalled to the squad, amid a series of explosive revelations around her decision to quit the team.
Earps’ autobiography ‘All In’will be released next week but it has been serialised in the Guardian, with details of the goalkeeper’s ,claims of tensions behind the scenes at the Lionesses and criticism of Wiegman’s methods of communication revealed for the first time.
Earps, 32, became a fan favourite following England’s victory at Euro 2022, changing the way that her position was viewed, with the goalkeeper winning the BBC Sports Personality of the Year following the Lionesses’ run to the World Cup final in 2023.
She was also named the best goalkeeper in the world on two occasions, but faced competition for her place in the team from Hampton during a series of European Championship qualifiers in 2024.
Hampton, 24, was the back-up goalkeeper at Euro 2022 and the 2023 World Cup but she was briefly dropped from the England squad following the Euros amid reports about her disruptive behaviour during international camps. Hampton was 21 at the time.
Earps announced her stunning retirement from international duty shortly before Euro 2025, where Hampton shone on her major tournament debut – particularly in the final where the to defend their European title.
In her upcoming autobiography, Earps describes being told that Hampton would be starting for the Lionesses in a key European qualifier against Ireland in April 2024. Earps said she told Wiegman: “I don’t get it. It’s a qualifier match. And bad behaviour is being rewarded.”
Earps writes that she previously told Wiegman that the idea of Hampton returning to the England squad in the spring of 2023 made her feel uncomfortable and said she pointed to alleged “disharmony” that the squad had felt during the previous Euros.
Earps says there was behaviour during England’s Euro 2022 campaign which was “overwhelmingly considered disruptive and unreliable, with a risk of being destructive” and that Wiegman was told this during a player feedback session after the tournament. On Hampton in particular, Earps writes: “Her behaviour behind the scenes at the Euros had frequently risked derailing training sessions and team resources.”
Earps goes on to say that she felt the decision to play Hampton ahead of her in a competitive match was “unjust”. “The affinity I had for Sarina and this job was being destroyed, the trust and respect evaporating,” she writes.
A year later, in April 2025, Earps says she was summoned by Wiegman and informed that she was no longer her first-choice goalkeeper ahead of the Euros. Earps says she was told by Wiegman that Hampton was a “little bit ahead of her” and there was “nothing she had done wrong”.
Earps, however, writes that she felt “extremely disappointed” and told Wiegman that she “could have been more direct and honest” with her assessment of the situation. Earps said Wiegman disagreed and felt she had communicated with her openly, having only made up her mind recently. “That sounded like bull—- to me,” Earps writes.
Earps said she decided to retire from international duty during her meeting with Wiegman and told the England manager that it would not “align with my morals and values to continue”.
Earps then said her preference would be for younger goalkeeper Khiara Keating to get the experience, rather than going to the Euros as second-choice.
“I continued with honesty but my voice broke as I said: ‘I used to feel invincible here but I don’t feel that way any more.’ That saddened me the most of all,” Earps writes.
“I told her that playing for my country had been the greatest privilege of my life but I couldn’t bear to look back on it as a place where I cried in my room, where I didn’t recognise myself. I said I no longer felt supported there and that the goalkeeper dynamic had been too unhealthy for too long.”
Wiegman did not want Earps to retire – and Earps writes that she herself backtracked on her decision and told the Dutchwoman that she would continue. Earps says she changed her mind again in May when Wiegman told her she had not watched her most recent match for Paris Saint-Germain.
“With that, I knew instantly that I’d made the wrong choice,” Earps writes. “I immediately wished I hadn’t uttered the words. I had committed to something and someone who didn’t seem committed to me; whose words, where I was concerned, still didn’t match their actions, and I’d known it all along.”
After Earps announced her decision to retire before the Euros, Wiegman said: “Of course, I had a couple of conversations which I don’t want to share here because that’s between us. I find it hard and it’s hard for her at the same time. She has done such a great job for England. We’ve had an incredible journey. I really cherish that.
“It’s emotional because we also have a relationship and we’ve had such a massive journey together with lots of highs and of course some lows too. But we have to move on and we don’t have time now to celebrate.”
Hampton praised Earps following her decision to retire and said before the Euros that she wanted to live up to her “legacy” during the tournament. She also thanked Earps after receiving the Yashin Trophy for best women’s goalkeeper at this year’s Ballon d’Or .
“I don’t think this award is an achievement for me, it’s an achievement for women’s goalkeeping,” Hampton said in Paris. “I stand on the shoulders of so many great goalkeepers of the past. Sitting alongside my fellow nominees, it’s an honour to be part of such an incredible group.”