British journalist Piers Morgan did not hold back when reacting to Eni Aluko’s most recent comments about Ian Wright.
Aluko first came under fire in April 2025 after she suggested that former Arsenal and England striker Wright was “blocking opportunities for women”, aiming to secure roles in the media covering women’s games.
Speaking to BBC Radio 4’s Woman’s Hour, the former Chelsea striker said that Wright, who has been a vocal advocate for the women’s game, needed to be aware of his presence in the media, as there is a “finite amount of opportunities” for women broadcasters.
Aluko later apologised for her remarks and admitted that “it was wrong for Ian’s name to be raised” in relation to such a sensitive topic.
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Wright responded by saying he was “very disappointed by what Eni” said before adding that he could “not accept” the former Juventus striker’s apology.
And despite the 62-year-old saying that he wanted “to move on” from the matter, Aluko has raised the topic once more in a new appearance on the ‘90s Baby Show’ podcast.
The 38-year-old voiced her frustration that two of the six pundit spots for BBC and ITV’s coverage of England’s Euros final win over Spain in Switzerland were taken by men, as Wright and ex-Manchester City defender Nedum Onuoha filled the roles. At the same time, Aluko and Fara Williams watched from the stands.
Aluko then mentioned how she has never worked as a pundit on men’s finals before adding that “we need to gatekeep the women’s game in a way that the men’s game is gatekept".
“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.
“I think we need to gatekeep the women’s game in a way that the men’s game is gatekept. What I mean by that is, and you’ve heard me talk about the journey of women’s football, it’s taken a while, it’s taken a lot of blood, sweat and tears to get the women’s game to where it is now.
“There’s a lot of people, including me, who have planted a lot of seeds to be reaping what we’re reaping now… TV, money coming into the game, investment, and it’s still growing.
“From my perspective, we didn’t go through all of that – blood, sweat and tears – for women to be second place in our own sport. What are we doing?”
The former forward then said that she has “nothing against” male pundits before she added: “I’m just saying broadly speaking we need to be aware of that because if we’re building a game where the limited opportunities are now being taken by men, where we can’t go into the men’s game and get the same opportunities, we’re stuck.”
Aluko then suggested that a solution to the problem would be to bring in more female pundits to cover high-profile men’s games.
Her recent comments have provoked a reaction on social media, with journalist Morgan taking to X to offer his thoughts.
After describing Aluko as “insufferable”, Morgan wrote: “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: Ian Wright, Football
Luke Davies