Eni Aluko has issued an apology to Ian Wright after she suggested that the Arsenal legend was “dominating” women’s football coverage and hindering opportunities for female pundits. Despite being a fervent supporter of women’s football and frequently serving as a pundit on Lionesses games, Wright has only been a pundit for one Women’s Super League match and was part of ITV’s coverage for just two games at the 2023 Women’s World Cup.
Aluko has now retracted her comments about Wright, clarifying that she was merely “trying to make a broader point about the limited opportunities for women in football”.
In an Instagram post, Aluko stated: “Ian Wright is a brilliant broadcaster and role model whose support for the women’s game has been significant.
“In my interview with Woman’s Hour this week, I was trying to make a broader point about the limited opportunities for women in football – whether that’s in coaching, broadcasting or commercial spaces – and the importance of creating more space for women to thrive on and off the pitch.
“But it was wrong for Ian’s name to be raised in that conversation, and for that I sincerely apologise. I’ve known and worked with Ian for many years and have nothing but love and respect for him.”
During her interview on BBC Radio Four’s Woman’s Hour, Aluko said: “I will never be able to usurp Gary Neville and Jamie Carragher. These are guys that have done it for a long time, they are brilliant broadcasters and rightly dominate their sport.
“I think the same should apply in the women’s game. I’ve worked with Ian a long time and I think he’s a brilliant broadcaster. But I think he’s aware of just how much he’s doing in the women’s game.
“I think he should be aware of that. There is a limited amount of space available. I can’t dominate the men’s game in the way that – you know, you used Ian as an example – Ian is dominating the women’s game.
“We need to make sure that women are not being blocked from having a pathway to broadcasting in the women’s game. It is still new, it is still growing. There is a very fine amount of opportunities and I think that men need to be aware of that.
“I don’t know about wrong, but I think we need to be conscious and we need to make sure that women are not being blocked from having a pathway into broadcasting in the women’s game.
“It’s still new, it’s still growing. There’s a finite amount of opportunities and I think that men need to be aware of that.
“Men need to be aware that, you know, you’re in a growing sport, a growing sport for women, and we haven’t always had these opportunities, and so it’s about the awareness and supporting other women through that pathway.”
