Mary Earps says she did not intend to ‘tear anyone down’ in autobiography

Former England goalkeeper Mary Earps has claimed reaction to her autobiography has been “distorted” and insisted she did not intend to “tear anyone down”.

Extracts from the 32-year-old Paris St Germain keeper’s book, which is due to be released this week, have been published by the Guardian, and her suggestion that her replacement in the national team, Chelsea’s Hannah Hampton, had been rewarded for “bad behavior” after being dropped for being “disruptive and unreliable” in particular made headlines.

However, Earps has admitted she has been surprised by how some of her comments have been interpreted and amplified on social media.

She told BBC Sport: “It’s been really overwhelming to see how some things have been distorted a little bit.

“I’ve not written this book to tear anyone down in any shape or form. That is not who I am as a person. This is real life. It has consequences. It isn’t a drama.

“I don’t think I’ve thought about what I wanted the reaction to be. I’m not surprised, by what I’ve seen on my algorithms (on social media), if I had come to the same conclusions as other people if I’m honest. But that’s not what I feel I’ve written.

“I don’t think it’s a fair reflection and I think it’s been taken out of the entirety of the context. I speak about so many different things and it’s hard to see only certain things being pulled out and really focused on.”

Chelsea boss Sonia Bompastor has defended Hampton, who starred as England retained their European crown this summer, saying she had shown “class” in response.