Laura Woods Responds After Eni Aluko's Comments On Women’s Euro Final
Laura Woods has responded after Eni Aluko slammed coverage of the Women's Euro final and again complained about Ian Wright's involvement in the women's game.
Last year, in an appearance on BBC’s Woman’s Hour, Aluko caused a stir when she claimed that Arsenal legend Wright was "blocking opportunities for women" when it comes to media roles.
The former Chelsea and Juventus player caused a stir with her comments, which she believes were taken out of context as she subsequently branded the controversy "clickbait media headlines".
Aluko issued an apology to Wright but the 62-year-old, who has worked with the former Lioness as a pundit, refused to accept it and said he was "very disappointed" after the way in which he helped and support her.
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In a new appearance on the 90s Baby Show podcast, Aluko again discussed the situation and expressed frustration that two of the six punditry spots for the BBC and ITV's coverage of England's historic triumph over Spain in Basel were taken by men in Wright and former Manchester City defender Nedum Onuoha while she and the Lionesses record appearance maker Fara Williams were in the stands.
Referencing how she has never provided punditry for a men's final Aluko said that "we need to gatekeep the women’s game in a way that the men’s game is gatekept".
"My point is, I’ve never done a major final in men’s football for eleven years, I’ve done three World Cups, men’s Euros, Champions League, I’ve never had that opportunity, and maybe rightly so, I’d probably say rightly so because again, I think the guys should always be ahead of me, the main guys.
"Last year, at the Women’s Lionesses final, I’m sat in the stands, I wasn’t on ITV for the final, Fara Williams was sat next to me, Fara Williams has 170 caps [172 caps] for England, something ridiculous, I think she’s the most-capped player, she’s sat in the stands.
The two broadcasters that had the rights for the game - ITV and BBC - on BBC you’ve got Ellen White, Steph Houghton and Nedum Onuoha, no offence to Nedum Onuoha, nothing against him, I don’t know whether he played for England or not, but 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’ve got two women, between us we’ve got 290 caps, something ridiculous, you turn over to ITV and it’s Ian Wright, Emma Hayes and Kaz Carney.
"So out of six punditry spots, two have gone to men. Meanwhile you’ve got 290 caps, whatever it is, sitting in the stands.
"I’ve just told you I’ve never done a final. I’m probably going to struggle to think of any women, a female pundit, who has done a men’s major final as a pundit. I’m not talking about presenters, people like to conflate the two, it’s a different role, it’s like comparing a forward and a defender, it’s different jobs, I’m talking about as a pundit, it doesn’t happen, so something is not right there because I’m saying this is still quite new where you’re watching women’s finals on TV, why are people like me and Fara not there?"
Aluko added that she has "nothing against" Wright and was speaking more broadly but later said, "the issue I have with Ian is that I think in his position he needs to clock what I’m saying".
A clip of Aluko's remarks did the rounds on social media and brought a reply rom Woods, one of the top presenters in the game and the face of ITV's coverage of women's football.
Woods, who has worked alongside both Aluko and Wright, replied to a video shared online and simply wrote, "Wow…".
When a user commented, "take it you won't defend her", the 38-year-old said, "Nope".
Having been involved in the previous row, Piers Morgan also weighed in on Aluko's take and issued a fiery response.
On X, the presenter commented: "Insufferable. If she was a tenth as talented as she thinks she is, she’d still be nowhere near the talent of @IanWright0 - on or off the pitch."
Topics: Laura Woods, Womens Football
Josh Lawless