‘Hopefully I’m more articulate!’ - Lionesses hero Mary Earps aiming to avoid infamous ‘f*ck off’ remark in potential BBC Sports Personality of the Year speech

The England international goalkeeper delivered a sweary roar when saving a penalty from Spanish star Jenni Hermoso in the 2023 Women’s World Cup final – a game the Lionesses would go on to lose 1-0. Earps is now in line to win a prestigious individual accolade, with odds weighted heavily in her favour.

If she is to emerge victorious and claim the SPOTY trophy, then a speech will have to be delivered. The Manchester United shot-stopper has moved to assure fans and viewers that she plans to rein in the passion and avoid turning the air blue again.

Earps has told the Daily Mail of her infamous outburst in Sydney: “Hopefully I’ll be much more articulate this time [at the awards]! A few people even had it tattooed on them. It was a really hard one to get my head around because I had no idea at the time that it had gone viral in that way. But when I got back, I realised it had become quite a thing. I’m not sure my family were too impressed. They have not spoken about it much so that tells you what they really think of it. I had to try and convince my gran that it wasn’t what I really said! But the way I see it, football is an emotional and passionate game and they just caught me in a passionate moment. It was just the wrong time for the camera to zoom in on me. I wear my heart on my sleeve and it just spilled over into that. But I am not advocating for anyone to get it tattooed on them!”

Earps has already been named Sportswomen of the Year at the British Sports Journalism Awards. She has also been named the Sunday Times Sportswoman of the Year and the BBC Women's Footballer of the Year, while also landing The Best FIFA Women's Goalkeeper prize back in February. She won the Golden Glove at the 2023 World Cup and has received an honorary doctorate from Loughborough University – while also seeing Nike backtrack on their plans not to make her England replica jersey available to the public, with said shirt selling out in minutes once it did go on sale.