Mary Earps' cryptic retirement message, X-rated incident, 'hurtful' England row

Daily Mirror

6 days ago

Lionesses hero Mary Earps has announced her sudden retirement from international football with just over a month to go before England compete at the UEFA Women's Euro 2025 in Switzerland
Mary Earps has made the "difficult" choice to retire from international football, making the announcement just five weeks before the UEFA Women's Euro 2025 kicks off in Switzerland. The Paris Saint-Germain goalkeeper mysteriously nodded towards the "many dimensions" surrounding her decision, hinting at the "new" path that the England team is gearing towards.
The 32-year-old played a significant role in the Lionesses winning Euro 2022 and finishing runners-up at the FIFA Women's World Cup in 2023. However, the veteran shot-stopper has recently not been selected as regularly for the starting XI, with Chelsea 's Hannah Hampton being preferred at times.
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Earps has 53 caps for England across an eight-year career, during which she secured the Euros trophy and the 2023 Women's Finalissima cup. She saved a penalty during the Finalissima shootout to help lead England to win the first-ever trophy of its kind in women's football, and was ultimately crowned the BBC Sports Personality of the Year in 2023.
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Regarding her sudden retirement now, though, England head coach Sarina Wiegman said she was "disappointed" by Earps' decision, and admitted that she had hoped the goalkeeper would play an "important role" in the Euros squad this summer.
Cryptic retirement message - 'All you have is all you are'
Earps' retirement message in full is an homage to the joy and pride she has felt while representing England at multiple international tournaments over the years.
However, after her announcement went public, BBC Sport reported that Earps met with manager Wiegman before the camp and told her team-mates of her decision on Monday at St George's Park.
It is understood that the squad was disappointed to hear Earps would no longer be at the Euros, as the goalkeeper stepped out of training and has since left the camp.
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In her post on social media, the shot-stopper said: "I have taken the difficult decision to retire internationally. It has been the greatest honour and privilege of my life, to wear this badge and represent my country. I'm a proper sop when it comes to playing for England, anyone who knows me knows that playing at the top of the game is what drives me, and it doesn't get bigger than the international stage.
"I wish I could do it forever – but sadly, all good things must come to an end."
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Earps went on to cryptically allude to the "many dimensions to this decision", highlighting the "new era and a new England team" that she is looking forward to watching from the sidelines this summer.
Fans may spot a hint of hurt behind the veteran goalie's words, as she added: "In the end, all you have is who you are - your character. And I know that whilst this won't make sense to some who are reading this, you can trust that I would not be doing this unless I thought it was absolutely the right thing to do, as much as it hurts."
Wiegman has since commented on Earps' retirement decision, stating that she is "clear" on why the choice was made. She said: "I had hoped that Mary would play an important role within the squad this summer, so of course I am disappointed. Mary has been clear on her reasons why she has made the decision, and it is something we need to accept.
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"Mary has made a huge contribution to not only the team, but the whole of English football. We will cherish those memories and of course give Mary the tributes she deserves after the summer but for now the focus needs to be on the upcoming UEFA Women's Nations League fixtures and the Euros."
While it is unclear the exact reason behind the goalkeeper's decision to hang up her international boots at this crucial time, fans continue to speculate about a potential rift in the squad after Earps lost her starting position to Chelsea star Hampton.
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When discussing Hampton's place in the starting XI, Wiegman said: "I have two world-class goalkeepers. At the moment, [Hampton] is a little bit ahead."
Many believe this to be a major influence behind Earps' decision to step back from international football, but neither player nor manager has confirmed or denied these rumours.
X-rated incident at 2023 Women's World Cup
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Despite a 1-0 loss in the Women's World Cup final against Spain in 2023, Earps was England's hero once again as she stopped a Jenni Hermoso penalty in the 70th minute to keep her team in it for the rest of the game.
The goalkeeper proved her worth as number one for England at that moment, and was rewarded with the Golden Glove award for the best in her position at the World Cup.
However, it was Earps' reaction after the penalty save that caught the eye of fans across the world. After not only saving but holding onto Hermoso's penalty shot, the 'keeper let her emotions flare as she was caught on the big screen yelling, "F*** off", and sticking out her tongue.
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During the game, fans took to social media to share their joy at Earps' save and subsequent reaction, as one said: "Penalty – but what happened after is Mary Earps finest moment. I could see her confidence and mental toughness, along with the background work off the pitch."
Another said: "Gutted for the @ Lionesses but Spain were worthy winners Whatever the result – this team are game-changers and we could all do with a little more Mary Earps in our lives."
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The goalkeeper's influence on the team was clear to see among her team-mates as they rushed to celebrate her save and continue the pressure on the eventual champions.
These moments will be aspects of Earps' game that fans and pundits will miss in future international tournaments, but the PSG star has left memories that are forever etched into England's sporting history.
England kit row with Nike – 'Very hurtful'
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Before the Women's World Cup kicked off, Earps was already involved in a heated row regarding her position in the sport.
The England international admitted that Nike's decision not to manufacture her replica shirt the same as her teammates was "very hurtful", and that she had been "fighting behind closed doors" to sort this issue out before the tournament began.
In July 2023, Earps expressed her anger at the brand's decision, as she said: "I can't really sugar-coat this in any way, so I am not going to try. It is hugely disappointing and very hurtful.
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"On a personal level, it is obviously hugely hurtful considering the last 12 months especially – and also I think there has been an incredible rise in goalkeeping participation over that year."
The shot-stopper, who had won the FIFA award for best female goalkeeper that same year, detailed the double standards faced by players in her position, as her fellow team-mates' jerseys were all available for fans to purchase.
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Earps said: "For my own family and friends and loved ones not to be able to buy my shirt, they are going to come out and wear normal clothes and I know that sounds like, 'Oh Mary, what a horrible problem,' but on a personal level that is really hard.
"So what you are saying is that goalkeeping isn't important but you can be a striker if you want."
However, following a petition that garnered over 152,000 signatures and pushback from Earps and many fans, Nike confirmed that they had "secured limited quantities of goalkeeper jerseys to be sold" after the World Cup final in 2023.
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In an official statement at the time, the brand said: "We've seen and share the unprecedented passion and interest in women's football this year and remain committed to playing our part by offering the best products and services to athletes and fans. We invested more in this year's World Cup than any other global tournament to date.
"Nike has secured limited quantities of goalkeeper jerseys for England, US, France, and the Netherlands to be sold through the federation websites over the coming days, and we are also in conversations with our other federation partners.
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"We recognise that during the tournament we didn't serve those fans who wished to show their passion and support to the squad's goalkeepers. We are committed to retailing women's goalkeeping jerseys for major tournaments in the future."
Since then, there have been multiple runs of goalkeeper kits, and Earps shared her relief at Nike's U-turn at the BBC Sports Personality of the Year awards in 2023.
Earps, who won the award that year, said: "It was more fighting for the principle than anything. It's about the message being sent out before being really damaging and now you don't have that.
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"Representation, visibility, is so important and [now] young girls or adults or whoever wants the shirts can have access to them.
"I've had that commitment from Nike that it will never happen again and I'm sure other sports brands will follow suit. OK, we might be complaining there's not enough, but I'd take that complaint over there being absolutely none, any day of the week."