'We support Mary & Hannah' - Lionesses star Chloe Kelly reacts to Earps & Hampton feud

Last month, Earps made plenty of headlines around the release of her autobiography 'All In', with the Paris Saint-Germain star being specifically critical of her national team successor Hampton and England boss Wiegman. Extracts from the book included Earps’ claim that she told the Lionesses boss that she was rewarding "bad behaviour" by recalling Hampton to the national squad after previously dropping her for being "disruptive and unreliable". Following the release of the book, the Paris Saint-Germain faced backlash online.

Earps later told BBC Sport: "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." 

Arsenal and England European championship hero Kelly has now addressed the feud between her team-mates as she told the Guardian: "I haven’t. I think, for me, I’m in a position where Hannah is my teammate, and we support our teammates. We support Mary, who was our teammate, too. Mary’s told her story. And, of course, in football, you don’t really see it too often, but I think, for me, Mary’s voiced herself."

She added: "I think, for me, it was either, I speak up and I speak out on what was happening, or I take a step away from the game. Mary’s situation is obviously writing a book of her whole journey. So, probably a little different. For me, both are my teammates, and I’m proud to stand side by side with my teammates. That’s very tactful and balanced, I say. But that’s me! I can’t comment on something if I haven’t read the whole book. Maybe one day I’ll listen to the audiobook. Because reading is not my forte."    

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Speaking more about Wiegman, Earps added: "There were things that happened in the summer that I wish had happened differently, of course. There’s an exchange at the end where she says we’re like family. I hope the noise of this situation hasn’t changed that. Hindsight is a beautiful thing and I would maybe do things differently with the information I have now, but I don’t think I have regrets. Regrets are hard because they’re outcome-driven. You can be a hero in one person’s eyes and a villain in another’s. If you do things with integrity and the right intentions then I don’t think you should have regrets in life, no matter what the outcome is."    

The Gunners star is currently sidelined with a knee injury but she is expected to return to action soon. Kelly missed the Women's Super League clash with Everton on Saturday but she could make a comeback during the north London club's Women's League Cup quarter-final clash against Crystal Palace on December 21.