Mary Earps has caused another stir in women’s football with her accusations about England goalkeeper Hannah Hampton, and now Chelsea manager Sonia Bompastre has spoken out.
Chelsea women’s manager Sonia Bompastre has hit back at former England goalkeeper Mary Earps, who targeted her replacement Hannah Hampton. Earps accused Lionesses coach Sarina Wigman of “rewarding bad behavior” by making Hampton the No. 1 goaltender at his expense.
The Paris Saint-Germain keeper said Hampton’s “behind the scenes actions frequently threatened to derail training sessions and team resources” during England’s successful Euro 2022 campaign. However, things didn’t go her way and Wiegmann decided to make Chelsea’s goalkeeper his first choice, with Arps ultimately deciding to retire from international football on the eve of last summer’s European Championships.
With the Lionesses winning the tournament, Hampton ended up getting the starring role, but Earps remained dissatisfied and her new autobiography, All In, revived the buzz. Bonpastar jumped to his players’ defense after Hampton won 2-0 in Chelsea’s WSL match against London City Lionesses on Saturday.
“I think Hannah will be fine, but of course it’s tough because Hannah is an athlete and a human being at the same time. It’s never nice to hear comments like this,” Bompastar said in the post-match press conference.
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“She has grown so much since I joined Chelsea, she is a professional athlete and a good person as well. We have a really good relationship and I want to support her in this situation.”
“I would also say it’s more respectful. From what I’ve read from Mary Earps, you can’t be disrespectful to your teammates and your coach. We’re talking about Hannah, but I also want to speak up for Sarina.”
“When you say something about a player who has won three Euros in a row, you should think twice before you say it. Hannah gets on well with us and the whole club, myself, the staff and the players, are all rooting for her.”
“What she was able to accomplish today showed how top-notch and professional she is. It’s always tough when someone has to read these comments. The fact that she was able to play and even compete and perform shows how good she is. I think she’s the best goalkeeper in the world in many ways, both athletically and mentally.”
“If you look at what Hannah said in her previous comments about Mary Earp, what Mary is saying about her now, one of them is class, and Hannah is class one.”
Speaking to the Guardian, Arps explained her views as follows: “I don’t want to go into details because it’s not my place… She’s a very good goalie and I’ve tried to draw a line under all that. I sent her a private message and said, ‘Listen, there’s no bad blood in there.’
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