Hannah Hampton has refused to hit back at Mary Earps’ criticism and insists her former England teammate is ‘entitled to her opinion’.
In her newly released autobiography, Earps wrote that England manager Sarina Wiegman had rewarded ‘bad behaviour’ by recalling Hampton to the national team in 2023.
Earps also wrote that Hampton was dropped from the Lionesses squad because she was ‘disruptive and unreliable’ during their Euro 2022 campaign, but did not elaborate on the specific details.
Chelsea manager Sonia Bompastor accused Earps of lacking ‘class’ and said that her comments towards Hampton and Wiegman were ‘not acceptable’.
But Hampton is adamant that she will not ‘knock’ Earps over her assessment of their time together in the England squad.
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‘I guess it’s the life of being a footballer, your life is in the spotlight,’ Hampton said in an interview with BBC Sport after being voted BBC Women’s Footballer of the Year for 2025.
‘Everyone’s got things to say, whether it gets to you, that’s down to you, if you want to let it affect you… I definitely know it’s not going to.
‘People are entitled to their opinions, that’s perfectly acceptable. I know where I want to get to in life, I know what all the people close to me know what I want to achieve.
‘I’m not going to sit here and knock people for what they have to say, that’s their life, that’s their judgement. I’m just going to focus on myself, that’s all I can do.
‘I want to achieve a lot more in the game and I can’t dwell on people’s thoughts. That’s going to hinder me, not help me.’
Despite being heavily criticised by Earps, Hampton believes her former England teammate ‘changed the perception of women’s goalkeeping’.
‘It still doesn’t quite sink in that people call you England number one,’ said Hampton.
‘It’s a lonely position, but it’s also very rewarding. You could be the hero at moments and you could also be the villain at moments.
‘The keepers before me Carly [Telford], Karen [Bardsley], Mary [Earps], even before that, they’ve changed the perception of women’s goalkeeping.
‘I’m just another body in that that’s obviously helped change the way along with Khiara [Keating] and Anna [Moorhouse] at the moment.
‘Women’s goalkeeping has definitely taken off, we’re trying to change perceptions slowly but surely.’
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