Hannah Hampton has accused the media of "tarnishing" the reputation of female goalkeepers by focusing on mistakes instead of positive performances.
The England and Chelsea goalkeeper , who played a key role in the Lionesses' victory at Euro 2025, won the Golden Glove for keeping eight clean sheets in the Women's Super League (WSL) this season. She also won Best Goalkeeper at both the Fifa and Ballon d'Or awards last year.
However, speaking at the WSL awards on Monday night, Hampton said female goalkeepers are not celebrated enough.
"Women's goalkeepers always get scrutiny, but when we do something right there is not enough celebrating or acknowledgement of that," the 25-year-old said.
"We have to start doing it to one another, then the media will hopefully follow. There's a lot of goalkeepers out there that should get more credit than they do.
"The media have a big impact. If a goalkeeper makes a mistake, all of a sudden they are the first people to put video clips out there and tarnish the reputation of women's goalkeeping.
"Why put someone down when we're trying to put women's football on the map where it deserves to be? We have to champion each other's successes.
"I think media companies can do a lot better in terms of what they put out there."
Hampton was named in Sarina Wiegman's 25-player England squad for the World Cup-qualifying games against Spain and Ukraine next month.
Ella Toone , who has not played for the Lionesses since December because of a hip problem, has been recalled alongside Aggie Beever-Jones and Freya Godfrey, who are also returning from injury.
Erica Parkinson has not been included after receiving her first call-up ahead of her 18th birthday for April's qualifiers against Spain and Iceland.
Hannah Hampton was one of the stars of the Lionesses' Euro 2025 triumph last summer.
She produced match-winning saves in both 90-minute matches and penalty shoot-outs. She was rightly celebrated for her fantastic performances and recognised for her achievements by the Fifa and Ballon d'Or awards.
It is disappointing to read her comments about a supposed lack of appreciation of female goalkeepers. The last two articles about Hampton published by Telegraph Sport celebrated her performances for England against Spain and Iceland . In fact, Hampton has been widely praised by multiple media outlets since her heroics at the Euros.
It has taken time for women's goalkeeping to get the respect it deserves but it does now – and Hampton has played a role in that. Ann-Katrin Berger is another goalkeeper who has been recognised for her ability and she was hailed for her incredible stop in Germany's quarter-final victory over France at the Euros.
Arguments over female goalkeepers needing smaller goals – a suggestion once put forward by Hampton's former Chelsea manager Emma Hayes – are a thing of the past.
There will still be social media accounts, usually run by fans of men's football, that try to put down the standard of women's football in general and goalkeeping specifically – but they are not serious commentators or part of "the media".
Hampton's comments were misguided. She said: "The media have a big impact. If a goalkeeper makes a mistake, all of a sudden they are the first people to put video clips out there and tarnish the reputation of women's goalkeeping."
Quite often, big social media accounts connected to women's football refrain from publishing goals that involve mistakes from goalkeepers in order to prevent a pile-on. The same luxury is not afforded to men's goalkeepers. You only need to ask the likes of André Onana or Antonin Kinsky about the ridicule they have received as a result of their mistakes being highlighted.
Hampton has not made many mistakes this season, but it is only natural that even a goalkeeper of her high ceiling will make the odd error throughout the course of the season.
She played a role in Manchester City 's winning goal in the semi-final of the Women's FA Cup when her pass was intercepted by Yui Hasegawa , who crossed for Khadija "Bunny" Shaw to score. TNT Sports clipped up the goal but not Hampton's pass. Even if they had included the error, this would have been standard practice.
One can only assume Hampton had no issue with the BBC clipping up her wonderful pass to Alessia Russo to help set up Lauren James 's goal against Netherlands during the Euros.
There is no room for abuse in football but it is a sad reflection of social media that players are often targeted. If Hampton's comments about "the media" were actually directed at accounts who abuse players on social media, rather than the traditional media, she should clarify that. Generalisations are unhelpful and damaging.
Hampton is a wonderful goalkeeper who has rightly been lauded for her superb performances over the last few years. It is a shame she feels that has not been properly reflected.
Having said that, players also need to accept that criticism comes with the job. In fact, it is something that players have called for in the past and increased scrutiny illustrates the progression of women's football. Coverage cannot always be positive or negative; it needs to have balance.
