Laura Woods has waded into the ongoing row between Eni Aluko and Ian Wright, telling her that her latest comments are ‘dragging women’s punditry backwards’.
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.
The 38-year-old 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’.
Aluko suggested that Wright’s presence has made it tougher for female pundits trying to find a spot in the industry. She has since apologised to Wright, who didn’t accept her words.
Both were part of ITV punditry’s team during England Women’s successful defence in Switzerland last summer but reflecting on that Aluko claimed ‘the women’s game should be by women, for women.’
Following Aluko’s comments, Woods took aim at her ITV colleague on X on Monday morning in a series of posts.
Laura Woods (left) has taken aim at Eni Aluko for her ongoing feud with fellow pundit Ian Wright
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 Wright of blocking opportunities for women in football
‘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.’
In response to Woods’ posts, Aluko gave a statement to Daily Mail Sport which read: ‘I respect Laura’s opinion as I have always done. 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.
‘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.’
Woods hosted ITV’s coverage of the 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.
Speaking on an episode of the 90s Baby Show that was aired on Friday, Aluko 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.
Woods took to X on Monday criticising Aluko’s comments in a series of posts
‘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 claimed that there needs to be an effort to ‘gatekeep the women’s game in the same way the men’s game is gatekept’.
On Friday, Aluko 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
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’.
‘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.
The 38-year-old reignited her war of words with Wright in an Instagram video on Sunday
‘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.
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.
Last year, Aluko issued a publicly apology to Wright and said her comments were a ‘mistake’
‘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.
