Eni Aluko assaults Ian Wright but once more as Laura Woods row will get private

Eni Aluko has released a statement responding to comments made by Laura Woods after the presenter criticised her for expressing a “damaging” view on women’s football. Aluko has reignited the row over male pundits covering the women’s game – and now it’s become personal with her former colleague Woods and Ian Wright.

Last year, the former England international sparked massive controversy when she accused Wright of blocking opportunities for female pundits through his involvement in women’s football coverage. She subsequently apologised, but Wright declined to accept it, stating he was “disappointed” by her remarks.

The 38-year-old recently revisited the subject on a podcast, complaining that she and Fara Williams had been overlooked for England’s triumph over Spain in last summer’s Women’s Euros final, whilst Wright and Nedum Onuoha landed the roles for ITV and the BBC respectively.

Woods hit back, stating that excluding men from women’s football would merely serve to gate-keep the sport. The ITV host also declared that “caps don’t win automatic work” in a remark directed at Aluko’s comments. The former striker has now issued her response.

“I respect Laura’s opinion as I have always done. For 11 years I have worked alongside the likes of Laura and all those considered the best pundits in the game. It’s therefore clear I was considered one of the best too if I was part of the same punditry team,” Aluko stated in a statement given to the Daily Mail.

“No one who has ever hired me as a pundit has said I wasn’t good enough or did not have all the attributes Laura referred to. Quite the contrary. I believe that women’s football should prioritise women as the faces of the sport – it’s as simple as that.

“I think women should be the dominant force in the women’s game in the same way that men are the dominant force in the men’s game. That means men should play more of a supporting role.

“No one is saying any man should be excluded but the roles do need to be defined. That’s all I’m saying – and people are quite free to disagree whilst respecting my right to an opinion too.”

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Aluko has also alleged that Wright declined to assist her by giving up some of his own opportunities to help her career. In the second instalment of the 90s Baby Show, released on Monday, Aluko also alleged that she’d contacted Wright and his representative to voice worries about her limited punditry opportunities, but received no response.

“I fully expected Ian to use his influence to keep me in the game. I’ve seen him do it with others, he did it with Gary Lineker at the BBC,” Aluko said. “There’s nothing that would make me think he wouldn’t do that for me, because you’re the ally, you’re ‘Uncle’. So the question to you is, why didn’t he do that for me?”

She added: “That’s what I expect from an ally – sacrifice. You can’t have it both ways, you can’t have this brand that says ally, that’s not my experience of you. When it comes down to it, you never really tried.”

Woods expressed her views on the matter in a thread on X, stating: “Caps don’t win automatic work and they don’t make a brilliant pundit either. The way you communicate, articulate yourself, do your research, inform your audience, how likeable you are and the chemistry you have with your panel are what makes a brilliant pundit.

“’The women’s game should be by women for women,’ is one of the most damaging phrases I’ve heard. It will not only drag women’s sport backwards, it will drag women’s punditry in all forms of the game backwards.

“If you want to grow something, you don’t gate keep it. We want to encourage little boys and men to watch women’s football too, not just little girls and women. And when they see someone like Ian Wright taking it as seriously as he does – they follow suit. That’s how you grow a sport.”

Aluko’s initial remarks were made on the 90s Baby Show, which aired last Saturday. Aluko said: “In the women’s game the opportunities are even more limited, so the main characters of the show should be the women. Men should be part of that.

“I’m not saying anybody should be excluded, I believe in diversity wholeheartedly, but the same way we’ve played a role in the men’s game that’s a supporting role, you’re part of the ensemble, you’re never going to get the premium final games, it should be the same way for women’s football.”

She added: “We didn’t go through all of that – blood, sweat and tears – for women to be second place in our own sport. What are we doing? That’s my point, the women’s game should be by women for women. Male allies should absolutely support that but when it gets to the point where you’re the main character of the show, we’re just repeating the patriarchal stuff that we’ve been fighting against.”