19 December 2023 , 22:43
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Piers Morgan has been accused of going "full Joey Barton" after he hit out at Mary Earps being named BBC Sports Personality of the Year - despite 'not winning anything'.
England and Manchester United keeper Earps beat the likes of cricketer Stuart Broad and athlete Katarina Johnson-Thompson to the coveted accolade on Tuesday, with Morgan taking to Twitter/X to question the public's decision to vote for the shot-stopper.
He wrote: "Trying to get my head around two of England's women footballers winning BBC SPOTY in successive years… while male sporting superstars with great personalities like Rory McIlroy, Frankie Dettori and Ronnie O'Sullivan have never won it. No offence to Ms Earps, but shouldn't it have been given to someone who actually won something in 2023?"
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SPOTY viewers hit back at Morgan, with one tweeting: "Basically what happened was one year Beth Mead was voted by the public as the winner and then the following year Mary Earps was voted by the public as the winner."
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Another added: "She sold more goalkeeper shirts than [Jordan] Pickford. Made girls believe. Brought joy to millions despite making us wake up at stupid times to see the games. She also won the Arnold Clark Cup if that helps your frankly ridiculous argument." And a third said: "Is Morgan going full [Joey] Barton here? Never ever go full Barton!"
Barton recently caused a stir on Twitter/X when he claimed women shouldn't be allowed to give their opinion on men's football. The manager, who lost his job at Bristol Rovers in October, was invited to discuss his opinion on Morgan's TalkTV show, Piers Morgan Uncensored.
Barton doubled down in his interview with Morgan, saying: "Everywhere you turn now there's an unqualified opinion commentating and pontificating about the sport I love, it's ruining my experience and it's all to fuel this woke agenda. And if we're not careful, sexism will rise. It has to be a meritocracy to get people qualified to do these roles."
Earps was England's stand-out performer during the Women's World Cup, in which the Lionesses just fell short in the final. The shot-stopper won the Golden Glove following the 1-0 defeat by Spain in the final in Sydney.
Earps said after being named SPOTY: "I feel a bit sick actually! I'm humbled to be on a list of incredible athletes. It's not been the easiest journey and I wouldn't be where I am today without such incredible people in my corner.
"In 2019, after the World Cup, that was the last time I played for England. I stayed out of the England team for quite some time. All these happy memories of the game that I loved didn't make any sense anymore.
Joey Barton caused a stir with his view on female football pundits (PiersMorganUncensored/Youtube)"It felt like I had lost my purpose in life. If Sarina hadn't called me up, I never expected to play for England again. There was a time in my life where I thought I would never put on an England shirt again and suddenly I am representing my country at a World Cup.
"I just feel so grateful that I was able to play for my country on the world stage and enjoy it as much as I did."
Earps is the third woman in a row to win SPOTY following Beth Mead's success last year and tennis player Emma Raducanu in 2021.