Ian Wright accused by Eni Aluko of 'blocking' female pundits by 'dominating' women's football coverage

Eni Aluko claims Ian Wright is ‘blocking’ female pundits from working on women’s football, insisting she couldn’t ‘dominate’ the men’s game in a similar fashion.

Wright has been a major advocate of the women’s game, but Aluko says the Arsenal legend should be aware of how his front-and-centre role is hampering the progression of others.

Aluko told Radio Four’s Women’s Hour: “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.

“The fact of the matter is, there is a limited amount of spaces available. If we had a situation where there was an equal opportunity in the men’s game for broadcasters and coaches that there is in the women’s game, it’s a free for all.

“But that’s not the case. I can’t dominate the men’s game in the way that, you know, you used Ian as an example.”

When asked to clarify if she thinks it is wrong for Wright to be covering women’s football, Aluko added: “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.”

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Wright launched a podcast alongside Steph Houghton last year about the women’s game, regularly speaks about it with Kelly Cates on the BBC and has supported female pundits – Aluko included – have have been abused in the past.

Aluko is suing Joey Barton for libel over X posts he made in January last year, with a judge ruling two weeks ago that his comments had a defamatory meaning when he accused her of being a ‘race card player’.

Despite winning the first stage of the case, Aluko claims her punditry career has been damaged after she made 44 punditry appearances in 2023 but just 27 last year.

“This happens in lots of industries – when women stand up for themselves, their career takes a hit,” she told BBC Radio 4.

“I’ve been doing broadcasting for 11 years. I’m not new to it. And in the last 18 months I’ve done the least TV I’ve ever done.

“That’s just a fact. That’s not a feeling, that’s an opinion. That’s a fact. So I think people can draw their own conclusions from that.

“There is a double standard where there is still a limited amount of opportunities for women, female broadcasters, both in the men’s and the women’s game.

“We’re still competing for two or three seats maximum, which includes the presenters.

“What the Joey Bartons, and some male football fans, want is for women to get off the TV.”

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