LAURA WOODS has hit back at Eni Aluko over her rant about punditry and criticism of Ian Wright.
Aluko, who has criticised Wright and male pundits working in women’s football, questioned ITV‘s pundit picks for the Women’s Euros final last summer.
The former Lioness formed part of the broadcaster’s coverage at the tournament but was left out of the final, along with her former team-mate Farah Williams.
Instead, ITV went with Wright, Emma Hayes and Karen Carney, with Aluko arguing she and Williams would have been better options due to the number of caps they have won.
Woods hit back at the claim, pointing out punditry is about more than just the number of caps someone has, while highlighting the good work ITV did at the Euros.
She wrote on X: “Caps don’t win automatic work and they don’t make a brilliant pundit either.
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“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 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.
“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.”
Aluko, 38, was critical of the ITV using a male pundit in Wright for the women’s final, as a female pundit has never been picked to cover a men’s final.
She said on the 90s Baby Show podcast: “Last year at the Women’s Lionesses final, I’m sat in the stands, I wasn’t on it for ITV for the final.
“Farah Williams was next to me. Farah Williams has 170 caps for England.
“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. 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.”
Aluko’s latest comments come after she caused a storm last year by accusing Wright of “blocking” pathways for women in football punditry.
The former Lioness apologised for her comments – but Wright refused to accept it.
Aluko said on BBC Radio 4’s Woman’s Hour: “I’ve worked with Ian a long time and I think he’s a brilliant broadcaster, but I think he’s aware of just how much he’s doing in the women’s game. I think he should be aware of that.
“The fact of the matter is, there is a limited amount of spaces available.
“If we had a situation where there was an equal opportunity in the men’s game for broadcasters and coaches that there is in the women’s game, it’s a free-for-all.
“But that’s not the case. I can’t dominate the men’s game in the way that, you know, you used Ian as an example.
“Men need to be aware that you’re in a growing sport, a growing sport for women, and we haven’t always had these opportunities, and so it’s about the awareness and supporting other women through that pathway.”
Wright, 62, shared his disappointment following Aluko’s comments, and said he could not accept her apology.
He said: “I’m very disappointed by what Eni has said.
“She knows how I have helped her and supported her publicly, and I know the previous conversations she’s had with me and my management.
“I’ve seen the apology on social media, but I can’t accept it, but I also want to move on from it. I don’t need any further social commentary directed at anyone.”
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