Former England striker Eni Aluko has apologised to Ian Wright after she stated that male broadcasters such as him risked blocking female pundits from working in the women’s game.
Wright has been a vocal supporter of women’s football and features regularly as a pundit on match coverage in the United Kingdom and elsewhere.
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In an interview with BBC Radio 4’s Woman’s Hour, Aluko said that Wright was “dominating” the field and that he “should be aware” of how much he was doing.
In a statement posted on Instagram on Friday, Aluko apologised to the former Arsenal and England striker, describing him as a “role model.”
“Ian Wright is a brilliant broadcaster and role model whose support for the women’s game has been significant,” Aluko wrote. “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.”
Aluko, 38, asked about her thoughts on male presenters in the women’s game in the Woman’s Hour interview and responded: “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.”
The 38-year-old has been criticised for her comments about men working in women’s football. (Photo: George Wood/Getty Images)
She was then asked Wright if was an example of this, to which she replied: “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.”
She added that it was not necessarily wrong for Wright to be working in women’s football, but said “we need to make sure that women are not being blocked from having a pathway into broadcasting in the women’s game.”
Aluko has worked as a pundit for ITV, TNT Sports, Amazon Prime and Fox Sports in the U.S. after ending her playing career in 2020. She spent eight seasons of her club career with Chelsea, scoring 68 goals in 158 appearances.
(Catherine Ivill/Getty Images)
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