Topics: Laura Woods, Ian Wright, Womens Football, Football
Eni Aluko has spoken out against Laura Woods and accused the broadcaster of ‘gaslighting’ her amid the ongoing debate about women’s football coverage involving Ian Wright.
Aluko, who has previously worked alongside both Wright and Woods for ITV Sport, previously accused the former Arsenal striker of “blocking opportunities” for female broadcasters in the women’s game back in April of 2025.
She later apologised for the comments, which Wright refused to accept after expressing how he was “disappointed” at Aluko’s remarks after he had supported the growth of the women’s game for several years.
The 38-year-old once again raised the topic during a podcast appearance on the ‘90s Baby Show’ podcast.
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The now-retired forward focused on the fact that she and England women’s record appearance maker Fara Williams watched the 2025 Euros final from the stands in Basel, Switzerland, while two of the six punditry roles available across BBC and ITV’s coverage were taken by men – Wright and former Manchester City defender Nedum Onuoha.
“In the women’s game, the opportunities are even more limited, so the main characters of the show should be the women,” Aluko said.
“Men should be part of that. I’m not saying anybody should be excluded. I believe in diversity wholeheartedly, but the same way we’ve played a role in the men’s game, that’s a supporting role, you’re part of the ensemble, you’re never going to get the premium final games, it should be the same way for women’s football.”
Aluko also posted two lengthy videos to her Instagram account on Sunday (February 8), during which she accused Wright of disrespecting her.
This resulted in backlash on social media, with Aluko’s previous colleague, Woods, wading in with her take via X.
In an X post on Monday (February 9), Woods wrote: “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 gatekeep 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.”
Then, on Tuesday (February 10), Aluko appeared on talkSPORT alongside Simon Jordan and Jim White and responded to Woods’ post, accusing the presenter of ‘gaslighting’ her.
Reacting to a graphic of Woods’ post, Aluko said: "It's interesting because Laura is one of the people I would consistently go to, we got on like a house on fire. I would consistently go to her and say, 'How do you think it went? What do you think? How did it go?'
"I'm that sort of person.
"I had to look at the messages yesterday and think, hold on, I feel a bit gaslit here. Laura consistently said to me, 'I think you're a brilliant broadcaster. I think you're a brilliant pundit.'
"So I think there's a little bit of serving her argument at this point, which I respect. She doesn't agree, and that's fine. But I think there's an insinuation in there that you don't meet the standard.
"I've worked too hard for people to conclude that because you're not seeing me on screen, I'm not good enough. That's not true."
