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Eni Aluko and Ian Wright have worked together for ITV - Getty Image /Charlotte Wilson
Ian Wright has said he cannot accept Eni Aluko’s apology after she accused him of “blocking” opportunities for women and “dominating” punditry in football.
Aluko said during an interview on BBC Radio 4’s Woman’s Hour that Wright should be aware of “how much he’s doing in the women’s game” and suggested his presence on punditry hampered the chances of female pundits trying to break into the industry.
She has since issued an apology to Wright on social media. Speaking about Aluko’s comments for the first time, the former Arsenal and England striker said he wants to move on but added that he could not accept Aluko’s retraction.
“I have to talk about this week and what’s going on, I don’t want to endlessly be asked about it,” Wright said on Instagram.
“I’ve got to say, I’m very disappointed about what Eni has said, she knows how I’ve helped her, 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.
“For anyone watching this, I really don’t need any further social commentary directed on any of this.
“The thing about where the women’s game is, it isn’t about me – it has to be about the collective.
“Because of the past, we know the men blocked the women’s game for 50 years, because of the past we know the game has serious systemic challenges, and it’s going to take everyone to help fix it. So, for me, I always give back to the game, it’s given me so much.”
Wright then added a “thank you” to Kayleigh McDonald, the former Stoke City player who told Telegraph Sport how he had been paying for her rehab, which costs £1,700 per month, for an anterior cruciate ligament injury since the start of the year.
“I wouldn’t be in a great place mentally if it wasn’t for Ian Wright,” McDonald told Telegraph Sport.
“I would probably still be waiting for my surgery if it wasn’t for him. For him to do this for me, someone he didn’t know, I think there should be more of a spotlight shone on him.”
Wright has been a pundit on Lionesses matches for ITV and previously worked for the BBC during the 2022 European Championship. But the 61-year-old has only been a pundit for one Women’s Super League match in the history of the competition – this season’s game between Arsenal and Liverpool in March.
He has been a vocal advocate for the women’s game and helped create the Ian Wright Coaching Fund with Barclays in 2023. The initiative was created to increase the number of female coaches at grass-roots level, particularly in under-represented areas, for girls playing football. Wright made a £15,000 donation and as many as 664 female coaches were funded to attend their Level One training course.
Wright has a podcast, Crossways, with former England captain Houghton and on it the pair have raised a number of important issues in the women’s game.
Aluko’s apology to Wright came after she denied “attacking” him.
“Ian Wright is a brilliant broadcaster and role model whose support for the women’s game has been significant,” she wrote on Instagram.
“In my interview with Woman’s Hour this week, I was trying to make a broader point about the limited opportunities for women in football – whether that’s in coaching, broadcasting or commercial spaces – and the importance of creating more space for women to thrive on and off the pitch.
“But it was wrong for Ian’s name to be raised in that conversation, and for that I sincerely apologise. I’ve known and worked with Ian for many years and have nothing but love and respect for him.”
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