Football fans jump to Mary Earps' defence after Piers Morgan criticises SPOTY win

Football fans were ecstatic to learn England goalkeeper Mary Earps bagged the award for BBC Sports Personality of the Year 2023 on Tuesday (19 December). Most fans, that is, bar one: Piers Morgan.

In an X/Twitter post, the Uncensoredhost said he was "trying to get [his] head around" how two women footballers have won the elusive award "in successive years".

Morgan went on to question why sportsmen such as Rory McIlroy, Frankie Dettori and Ronnie O'Sullivan "have never won it".

He added: "No offence to Ms Earps, but shouldn't it have been given to someone who actually won something in 2023?"

The remarks soon caused a stir online, with many jumping to Earps' defence.

"It’s quite funny seeing how many people are rattled that Mary Earps won #SPOTY last night," one person wrote. "Most of them because she’s a woman and what she’s done for the women's game. Others because they believe women have no right to beat men. Well done Mary. Keep on boiling that p***."

Another shared a screenshot of Morgan's tweet, with the accompanying tweet: "Twitter/X. Show me an example of an old dinosaur who doesn’t understand what a public vote is. Btw, I think what he *really* meant to say was ‘Congratulations to the fabulous Mary Earps for winning the 2023 Sports Personality Award.’ #Lionesses".

Meanwhile, a third added: "Anyone losing their s*** about Mary Earps winning SPOTY clearly spends too much time online and has become out of step with what people actually appreciate and want. It's hardly a big leftie 'woke' award, it's voted for by the wider public who are more open-minded than we think."

Getty Images

At club level, Earps kept 14 clean sheets as United finished second in the Women’s Super League, and she hailed the part her teammates had played in her achieving this individual accolade.

"I would not be here without my teammates with the Lionesses and at Manchester United because we’ve achieved some incredible things over the last couple of years," she said while accepting her award.

"While individual accolades are great, they only come after team success. This is their trophy just as much as mine."

How to join the indy100's free WhatsApp channel

Sign up for our free Indy100 weekly newsletter

Have your say in our news democracy. Click the upvote icon at the top of the page to help raise this article through the indy100 rankings.