England's Mary Earps responds to Man Utd fan over "too important" accusation
Mary Earps believes it is "becoming difficult" for the Lionesses to maintain previous levels of interaction with fans.
Earps earlier this week hit back at a “hurtful” comment from a supporter who accused the England No 1 of being “too important” to engage with them post-match. The keeper shared a comment she received from a Manchester United fan, which described Earps as "far too busy and important to stop for her fans."
The goalkeeper is currently preparing for England's Nations League game with Belgium on Friday. Earps is one of the most idolised players in the current Lionesses squad, with over a million followers on TikTok, while her replica goalkeeper’s shirts sold out within hours after Nike put them on sale after her World Cup performances.
Earps is always seen after England games signing shirts and taking selfies with countless fans. But after the social media incident last week, she does believe it is becoming harder to maintain a high level of interaction with supporters.
“Expectation of the team is obviously a huge compliment in terms of the way teams expect us to win and things like that,” Earps said. "The accessibility people get to us as players is a hot topic of discussion.
Earps reacts to FIFA Best nomination and on season so far with Man Utd
"It’s something we as players are experiencing in a very different way in terms of the way the profile is changing. We love to interact with the fans, but it is becoming difficult to keep everyone happy and to interact with as many people as possible.
"We are so grateful that thousands and thousands of people want to come and meet us and talk to us but the reality is that if that is the expectation then we are always going to fall short. I think the emphasis on it needs to switch.
"We love that we can be so connected but we are subject to a lot of comments and at times it is an addition to the game we don’t need. We love it but it is becoming difficult to maintain that."
Earps played the full 90 minutes of United’s 5-0 rout of Everton last weekend before she was criticised by the fan on social media.
The fan wrote on Instagram : “Thank you Ella Toone and Nikita Parris for stopping to meet my daughter today. It’s a shame Mary Earps is far too busy and important to stop for her fans these days!!”
Earps shared a picture of the comment and wrote on her Instagram story: “I try to ignore comments like these – but after a great win & spending so much time post-game meeting so many of you lovely lot afterwards, it’s hurtful to get home and get tagged in comments like these. Be kind. Happy Sunday. Love Mary x.”
England face Belgium on Friday night needing to win to boost their hopes of winning the Nations League. The Lionesses currently sit third in League A Group 1, behind their opponents and the Netherlands.
But they haven't kept a clean sheet since the round of 16 World Cup tie Nigeria, five games ago. "We all like keeping clean sheets," said Earps. "So that's what we always try to do. We obviously haven't got that right just yet.
"But, ultimately, a clean sheet doesn't always define the performance in any way. There's lots of different factors that go into a performance. But we know we can be better.
"We're always looking to improve, that's the exciting thing about it, we know we haven't hit the levels we'd like. But that is what we're focused on doing."
Man Utd boss Skinner sends firm message to Arsenal over Russo contract saga
Read more similar news:
Comments:
comments powered by Disqus
