Eni Aluko has called for women’s football to be ‘gatekept’ as she reiterated her view that male pundits, such as Ian Wright, are blocking opportunities in the game.
Aluko had sparked controversy last April when she claimed former Arsenal and England forward Wright needed to be aware of ‘how much he’s doing in the women’s game.
The ex-England women’s star suggested that Wright’s presence has made it tougher for female pundits trying to find a spot in the industry.
‘I’ve worked with Ian a long time and, you know, 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,’ she told Radio Four’s Women’s Hour at the time.
‘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.’
Aluko later apologised publicly to Wright, who responded by saying he could not accept her apology. She later revealed she had attempted to apologise privately and admitted her comments had been ‘a mistake’.
Eni Aluko has called for women’s football to be ‘gatekept’ like the men’s game as she renewed criticism of male pundits entering the women’s game
Aluko previously accused Ian Wright, right, of blocking opportunities for women in football
Aluko had issued a publicly apology to Wright last year and claimed her comments were a ‘mistake’
Despite initial doubts amid the controversy, Aluko was confirmed as part of ITV’s punditry line-up for last summer’s Women’s Euros, which saw England beat Spain in the final.
Wright was not included on ITV’s initial line-up, but served as a pundit for both the semi-finals and final.
Speaking on the 90s Baby Show, Aluko expressed frustration at both the presence male pundits Wright and Nedum Onuoha, who were part of the ITV and BBC punditry teams for the final, respectively.
‘Last year at the Women’s Lionesses final, I’m sat in the stands, I wasn’t on it for ITV for the final,’ Aluko said. ‘Farah Williams was next to me. Farah Williams has 170 caps for England.
‘The two broadcasters that had the rights, ITV, BBC. On BBC, you’ve got Ellen White, Steph Houghton and Nedum Onuoha. No offence to Nedum Onouha, nothing against him, I don’t know whether he played for England or not. You’re on the main panel for the final for England Women.
‘Let’s go over to ITV, I’m in the stands with 105 caps, so you have got two women with 290 caps, something ridiculous right. Right ITV, it’s Ian Wright, Emma Hayes and Kaz Carney.
‘So out of six spots, two have gone to men, meanwhile you have got 290 (caps) sitting in the stands. I have never done a final and I am probably going to struggle to think of any woman, female pundit, who has done a men’s major final.
‘I am talking about as a pundit, so something is not right there. Why are people like me and Faz (Fara) not there. It is nothing against Ian and nothing against them, I am just saying broadly speaking we need to be aware of that.’
Wright previously addressed the apology and and said he wanted to ‘move on’ from the saga
Aluko has now hit out at the inclusion of Wright and former Man City defender Nedum Onuoha, who worked as pundits on the women’s Euros final last year for ITV and the BBC
Wright had been part of ITV’s punditry line-up for both the semi-finals and final of the tournament in Switzerland
Aluko appeared to suggest Wright had become a ‘main character’ in women’s football and claimed he needs to ‘clock what I am saying’ about men’s taking opportunities
The BBC’s line-up had featured White, England women’s record goalscorer and Euro 2022 winner, along with former England captain Houghton.
Carney, who won 144 England caps during her career, and former Chelsea and current United States boss Hayes have both been regular pundits during major international tournaments.
Aluko claimed that there needs to be an effort to ‘gatekeep the women’s game in the same way the men’s game is gatekept’.
When justifying her view, Aluko declared that there had been a lot of people – herself included – who had ‘planted a lot of seeds’ to reap the benefits of the growth of the women’s game.
‘From my perspective we didn’t go through all of that blood, sweat and tears for women to now be second place in our own sport. What are we doing?’ Aluko said.
‘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 are the main character of the show, we are just repeating the patriarchal stuff we have been fighting against.
‘Whoever that upsets, that upsets. I have always been protective about women’s football. I was doing women’s football when it didn’t pay to do women’s football. Now we are reaping the rewards, I am like, women should be winning right now.’
Aluko added that she has not been chosen to serve as a pundit for a major men’s final in 11 years of broadcasting, but admitted the ‘main guys should always be ahead of me’.
However, Aluko insisted that female pundits are now ‘stuck’ with opportunities being taken up by men in the women’s game, while claiming she could ‘never do a men’s final’.
Aluko asserted that she was not criticising Wright, but claimed she represents ‘way more’ for young girls than the former Arsenal forward.
Aluko claimed she would never be given the chance to work as a pundit on a major men’s final, although former team-mate Karen Carney, centre, was part of TNT Sports coverage of the Champions League final last year
Broadcaster Piers Morgan branded Aluko ‘insufferable’ following her latest comments and claimed she lacks Wright’s ‘talent’
‘The limited opportunities in the women’s game are now being taken by men, but we can’t go into the men’s game and take the same opportunities. We are stuck,’ Aluko continued.
‘I can never do the men’s final. The only way I have an opportunity to do a final is the women’s final and now I can’t do the women’s final.
‘What I represent for young girls who want to be footballers, who want to be broadcasters, is way more than Ian Wright represents. Again, I am not knocking Ian Wright, it is not even about him, it could be any man. It is really important that we keep an eye on premium opportunities.
‘The issue I have with Ian is that in his position, he needs to clock what I am saying.’
Despite Aluko’s comments, Carney had been part of TNT Sport’s punditry line-up for the men’s Champions League final last year, joining Rio Ferdinand and Owen Hargreaves as part of the broadcaster’s team.
Clips of Aluko’s comments were posted on social media, with broadcaster Piers Morgan among those to hit back at her latest remarks.
‘Insufferable. If she was ten times as talented as she thinks she is, she’d still be nowhere near the talent of Ian Wright – on or off the pitch,’ Morgan wrote.
In November, Aluko had claimed her punditry work had dried up in the wake of social media attacks by Joey Barton.
Barton received a suspended prison sentence for sending ‘grossly offensive’ messages to Aluko and fellow pundit Lucy Ward and broadcaster Jeremy Vine.
Following a televised FA Cup tie between Crystal Palace and Everton, Barton likened Ward and Aluko in a post on X to the ‘Fred and Rose West of football commentary’.
Then, Barton superimposed the faces of the two women on to a photograph of the serial murderers.
Aluko, 38, had said she was pursuing more opportunities outside the UK and revealed her fear that she could be stabbed as a consequence of Barton’s posts.
Barton announced he would appeal the conviction in defence of ‘free expression’.
