Gabby Logan reignites row after Women’s World Cup final after penalty hero Mary Earps criticized a ‘hurting’ decision

BBC presenter Gabby Logan reignited the Mary Earps Nike jersey lineup after England’s heartbreaking defeat by Spain.

Thanks to Olga Carmona’s goal, the Lionesses were beaten 1-0 in Sunday’s World Cup final.

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Despite that crushing defeat, heroic goalkeeper Mary Earps, arguably England’s best player of the tournament, produced another outstanding performance.

The 30-year-old stopper, who plays her club football for Manchester United in the WSL, saved a penalty and prevented Spain’s second goal.

Her performance later earned her the Golden Glove of the tournament, in addition to the Fifa award for Best Goalkeeper she received six months earlier.

However, ahead of the World Cup, Nike controversially decided that they would not sell any replica England goalkeeper kits, including the two that the top goalkeeper kit had worn Down Under in recent weeks.

And despite Earps’ efforts on the field, it still wasn’t enough for the sports manufacturing giant to turn around and make a replica jersey.

Logan hosted the BBC’s coverage of the game this morning and then continued the argument with Nike live on air, saying: “She will have inspired so many little girls to go out and try to be a goalkeeper in the backyard.”

“Let’s hope one day they can buy their shirts too, Alex. That’s the next step.” English legend Alex Scott, who worked as a pundit, responded: “That’s the next step that everyone wants to see.”

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“She deserves this recognition and this award. Going from #3 to #1.”

Earps had previously expressed disappointment with Nike for choosing not to make a goalie jersey for fans.

She said: “I can’t seem to sugarcoat this, so I’m not going to try. It is extremely disappointing and very hurtful.

“My shirt on the Manchester United website was sold out last season.

“It was the third best selling shirt, so who says it doesn’t sell? It’s the little kids that worry me the most. They’ll say, “Mom, Dad, can I have a Mary Earps shirt?” and they’ll say, “I can’t, but I can get you an Alessia Russo 23 or a Rachel Daly 9.”

“What you’re saying is that the goalkeeper isn’t important, but you can be a striker if you want to.”

FA boss Mark Bullingham has vowed to try and fix the problem, saying: “Mary is incredibly passionate about improving goalkeeping, as are we.”

“We have several plans to develop the next generation of goalkeepers. We have a plan to address this issue and we will come to that after the tournament.”

While Nike issued a brief statement after the final, the company simply said it would look into the matter for “future tournaments.”

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