Eni Aluko Issues Statement In Response To Laura Woods Over Punditry Comments

Eni Aluko has responded to Laura Woods after she hit back the former England international's opinions about coverage of women's football and figures like Ian Wright being used as pundits.

Aluko, who was capped 105 times for England, caused a stir when she appeared on the 90s Baby Show podcast and said "we need to gatekeep the women’s game in a way that the men’s game is gatekept" as she expressed frustration at Wright and Nedum Onuoha being two of the six pundits used by ITV and BBC for the women's Euro final where England beat Spain on penalties in the summer.

The former Chelsea player had an issue with the aforementioned pair providing punditry when she and record appearance maker Fara Williams were in the stands at St Jakob Park.

Woods, who has worked regularly with Aluko, reacted to the clips doing the rounds and put out a series of posts on her page where she claimed that the 38-year-old's approach would "not only drag women’s sport backwards, it will drag women’s punditry in all forms of the game backwards".

She also defended Arsenal legend Wright, who rejected an Aluko apology after she said he was "blocking" opportunities, for "taking it as seriously as he does" and helping grow the sport.

On Monday, Aluko released a statement in response to Woods' post on X where she attempted to clarify her comments and doubled down with her take that "women's football should prioritise women as the faces of the sport".

"I respect Laura's opinion as I have always done," Aluko said in a statement on talkSPORT.

"For eleven 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."

Following the significant backlash on social media, Aluko is set to join Simon Jordan and Jim White on talkSPORT on Tuesday morning for what promises to be a fiery discussions.