Eni Aluko has accused Ian Wright of blocking opportunities for female pundits in women’s football.
Aluko, 38, took aim at the Arsenal legend – who has been a major advocate of the women’s game – pointedly saying he should be aware of how much space he takes up.
The former England and Chelsea forward was speaking on Radio Four’s Women’s Hour and said: ‘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, 61, to be a figure at the forefront of coverage of 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.
Ian Wright (right) has been accused by Eni Aluko (left) of blocking opportunities for women
Laura Woods (left), Aluko (right) and Wright work together for the Women’s World Cup qualifier between England and North Macedonia back in 2001
‘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.’
Wright launched a podcast alongside Steph Houghton last year about the women’s game and regularly speaks about it with Kelly Cates on the BBC.
The much-loved pundit is also a regular fixture on screens covering the men’s game and sits alongside Gary Neville, Roy Keane and Jill Scott on The Overlap.
Wright spoke out in support of female pundits who have suffered abuse in the past, insisting they ‘deserve’ their roles and saying he was ’embarrassed’ about vitriol sent their way.
Aluko, along with Alex Scott and Karen Carney, is among the female pundits to have been targeted.
And she believes her broadcasting career has been damaged by the ongoing civil libel case against Joey Barton.
Aluko is suing the former Manchester City and Newcastle midfielder for libel over two posts he made in January last year on X.
Wright, Karen Carney and Aluko share a laugh while working on punditry duty for ITV in 2023
Barton, 42, made comments which had a defamatory meaning when he accused her of being a ‘race card player’, a judge ruled two weeks ago.
The judge also found that while the other post did not have a defamatory meaning, it did have a defamatory ‘innuendo meaning’.
Despite winning the first stage of the case, which Barton could still appeal, Aluko claims her punditry career has been damaged.
‘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.
According to the Internet Commentator Database, Aluko made 44 punditry appearances in 2023, but that figure dropped to 27 last year.
She added: ‘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.
Joey Barton made comments which had a defamatory meaning, a judge ruled
Aluko said she left her house in disguise because of the hearing and is ‘more self-conscious’
‘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.’
Aluko also said she left her house in disguise because of the hearing and that Barton’s tweets have impacted her in real life and made her feel ‘more self-conscious’.
‘I don’t feel that I can just go out and be free to do what I do. For the first week I was disguising myself and some people think that’s over the top, but that’s genuinely the impact it had on me,’ she added.
Barton’s first post on X on January 17 2024, said: ‘Surprise, Surprise,’ followed by a screenshot from a Guardian article with the headline, ‘FA faces calls for fresh investigation after Eni Aluko’s claims of racism and bullying.’
On the same day he wrote: ‘Cry me a f***ing river… I was waiting for the victim card to be played.
‘Eni, sorry luv, you’re dreadful as a pundit.’
Meanwhile, two days later Barton posted: ‘More has come to light about poor, little Eni Aluko.
‘Dad was a Nigerian Senator. Dodgy money. Ran to England. Massive house in Wentworth. 3 Rolls Royce’s. St Mary’s in Ascot private education. Lawyer, Race card player.’
The judge said: ‘That was a statement of opinion insofar as it accused the claimant of hypocrisy and a statement of fact insofar as it meant that the claimant had on at least one occasion cynically sought to exploit her race.
‘It was defamatory in both respects. Race card player’ is clearly a derogatory term.’
