Former England Lioness Jill Scott has waded into the controversy surrounding Mary Earp’s revelatory autobiography in which she makes a number of accusations about boss Sarina Wiegman and her handling of rival goalkeeper Hannah Hampton. Earps revealed she felt Wiegman was "rewarding bad behaviour" by reinstating Hampton to the squad in 2023.
Book launch creates controversy
Hampton had been dropped after Euro 2022 over reports of being "disruptive and unreliable," and Earps said at the time that the decision had strengthened relationships behind the scenes. The situation came to a head in early 2025 when Wiegman named Hampton the new first-choice goalkeeper over Earps, a decision Earps called "bullsh*t" and led to her international retirement just before Euro 2025.
Hampton starred for the Lionesses during the successful run in Switzerland, saving two penalties in the final shootout with Spain, and later received the Yashin Trophy for world's best goalkeeper, presented by Earps herself. The decision to reveal details from inside the England camp has since generated backlash for Earps, with Hampton's club manager Sonia Bompastor criticising Earps' "lack of respect".
AdvertisementGetty Images SportFailed attempt at making amends
After extracts from her book were published in the Guardian and subsequently widely picked up by other media outlets, Earps attempted to backtrack on her claims about Hampton's "bad behaviour" by suggesting she was misrepresented, stressing her vulnerability in the book, and privately messaging Hampton.
In her Instagram statement, Earps wrote: "It's gut-wrenching to be portrayed as someone you're not," and argued that "pulling out a paragraph, or a sentence here and there is not a reflection of the contents of the book". In a separate interview, she said, "I have messaged her privately to say: 'Look, no bad blood'".
'It’s gone crazy'
Scott joined the debate and told this week's Stick to Football podcast: "It’s gone crazy. Obviously, Mary's brought out a book where she's told her side of the story about Hannah Hampton being left out after the Euros, and then Sarina saying she was going to bring her back in, and since then it’s just escalated so much. But I’ve seen a lot of the girls do interviews, and I think their opinions are that if things happen in-house, they should stay in-house.
"If you asked Hannah, she’d have a version. Sarina would have a version, and Mary would have a version. Hannah’s a fantastic keeper and I think she came in and there was pressure on her to perform when Mary wasn’t there, and there’s all this pressure on Hannah to perform as a young keeper in that Euros; she was absolutely fantastic. Sarina's left her out of a camp and come back in, will people look at that as good management? But the way it’s all going, it's just kind of blew up.
She added: "When I’m watching Mary’s interview she’s saying, 'Please don’t look at clickbait, read the story,' because she says Hannah’s a fantastic keeper, Sarina look at what’s she’s won – she doesn’t want to question Sarina. So sometimes we can see a headline and a small snippet and think she’s coming at her."
Getty Images SportWright's worries over impact of public row
Former Arsenal and England striker Ian Wright also shared his thoughts on the controversy, and is concerned for how the drama will impact both Earps and Hampton's form for their respective clubs.
Wright said: "The sad thing with it is, because the book is so close and she (Hannah) is still playing, and they're so close to everything still. You normally get this narrative 10, 15, 20 years after you’ve retired so it doesn’t hit so hard. But what I’d be careful of for both of them, is they’re not used to the kind of attention they’re going to get in respect to how it comes on top. The pile-on is a worry."