Eni Aluko fires back at Laura Woods after presenter accused ‘damaging’ old friend of ‘dragging women’s punditry backwards’ in feud with Ian Wright

Eni Aluko has fired back at Laura Woods after the presenter waded in on the ongoing row between Aluko and Ian Wright surrounding men working in women’s football broadcasting.

Aluko came back into the spotlight over the weekend after she called for women’s football to be ‘gatekept’ as she reiterated her view that male pundits, such as Wright, are blocking opportunities in the game.

As a result, Woods took aim at her ITV colleague on X on Monday morning in a series of posts, claiming Aluko’s claims were ‘damaging’ and fighting the corner of Wright.

Aluko, though has given her latest verdict on the issue in a statement to Daily Mail Sport, responding to Woods and seemingly doing her best to try and get her point across once again. 

‘I respect Laura’s opinion as I have always done,’ Aluko said. ‘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.

‘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.

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

‘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.’

Wood had said earlier in the day: ‘Caps don’t win automatic work and they don’t make a brilliant pundit either,’ Woods wrote. ‘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.

‘Here’s a picture of our team at ITV. We won best production at the Broadcast Sport Awards 2025 for our coverage of the Women’s Euros. Seb Hutchinson won best commentator too. So I think ITV got it just right.’

Woods hosted ITV’s coverage of the Women’s Euros final in July, which England won on penalties against Spain.

Aluko was among the broadcaster’s line-up of pundits for the tournament in Switzerland but was not on the panel for the final, while Wright was alongside Karen Carney and Emma Hayes.

Woods took to X on Monday to criticise Aluko’s comments in a series of posts

Having initially made her frustrations known last year, speaking on an episode of the 90s Baby Show, Aluko again expressed frustration at the presence of male pundits Wright and Nedum Onuoha, the latter who worked for the BBC, for that final.

‘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.’

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 previously accused Wright of blocking opportunities for women in football, with the Arsenal legend rejecting her eventual apology

Last year, Aluko issued a publicly apology to Wright and said her comments were a ‘mistake’

Following her appearance on the the 90s Baby Show, Aluko claimed she hasn’t had any pundit jobs with Wright after he rejected her apology for suggesting he was blocking female pundits from being given broadcasting opportunities.

Taking to Instagram, she claimed Wright’s name is still being ‘weaponised’ against her by others nine months on from the saga, as she took aim at the former striker for the way he handled the fallout.

‘The reality is we had an opportunity nine months ago to quieten this, to have an adult conversation and talk about our different perspectives,’ Aluko said.

‘When I apologised to Ian Wright publicly and privately he had an opportunity to show the grace and the allyship that he showed to many other people. And to prove that he’s the ally that everybody says he is. Unfortunately, my sincerity, my humility, was met with disrespect.’

Aluko then said Wright’s refusal to accept her apology led to her being widely piled on, before claiming in a second video that she has not had any work gigs with Wright since their public fallout.

‘I’ve always been the person who ignores, whether I like that person or not, and you work together and move on,’ she continued.

‘I’m putting it out there that I’m more than open to a conversation with Ian Wright. I’ve said my piece. I’ve given more context. I’ve been quiet for a very long time.

‘The public will have their own views and opinions, the media will have their own views and opinions. I don’t live for that validation, anyway. So, (I’m) open to a conversation and if it happens, great. If it doesn’t happen, life moves on.’

Wright’s representatives have been contacted for comment.