Mary Earps Claims ‘Bad Behaviour Was Rewarded’ as She Opens Up on Dramatic England Exit and Sarina Wiegman’s Treatment of Hannah Hampton

Lionesses legend Mary Earps has claimed she told Sarina Wiegman that “bad behaviour was being rewarded” after fellow goalkeeper Hannah Hampton was recalled to the England squad.

Earps made the explosive revelation in her upcoming autobiography, All In, in which she lifts the lid on her dramatic departure from the national team just weeks before this summer’s European Championships. Extracts from the book have been serialised by The Guardian ahead of its official release next week.

The PSG goalkeeper, 32, stepped away from the England set-up five weeks before the tournament, after losing her starting spot to Hampton, who is eight years her junior.

In the book, Earps criticises Hampton’s conduct during England’s Euro 2022-winning campaign, claiming it “frequently risked derailing training sessions and team resources”.

Twice named The Best FIFA Women’s Goalkeeper, Earps was England’s established No. 1 throughout Euro 2022 and the 2023 World Cup, while Hampton served as her understudy.

However, in October 2022, months after England’s Euros triumph, Hampton’s behaviour became a subject of public discussion when reports suggested that Wiegman had dropped her over concerns regarding her attitude and professionalism.

Referencing the incident, Earps wrote:

“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 situation in an interview with Elle magazine in June, admitting:

“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.”

Although Earps does not elaborate on what Hampton’s behaviour involved, she claims in All In that Wiegman consulted her before recalling Hampton to the England squad in 2023, explaining that “everyone deserves a second chance.”

Earps recalls confronting Wiegman again in April 2024, when she learned that Hampton would start in a crucial Euro 2025 qualifier against the Republic of Ireland.

“I don’t get it,” Earps reportedly told Wiegman. “It’s a qualifier match. And bad behaviour is being rewarded.”

A year later, in April 2025, Wiegman officially made Hampton her first-choice goalkeeper, a decision that led 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 veteran goalkeeper describes being left “extremely disappointed” and recalls telling Wiegman that she “could have been more direct and honest” about the situation.

Earps alleges that Wiegman disagreed, insisting that she had been open in her communication and had only recently made her decision — a claim Earps bluntly dismissed in her book, writing:

“That sounded like bulls*** to me.”

The memoir provides a detailed account of the events that led to Earps’ retirement from international football in May, revealing underlying tensions within the Lionesses camp during their dominant three-year spell — a period that included back-to-back European Championship victories and a run to the 2023 World Cup final.