Eni Aluko reignites Ian Wright feud with 'disrespect' claim after public fallout

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Eni Aluko has claimed Ian Wright showed her 'disrespect' by snubbing her apology over comments she made last year after criticising the BBC and ITV for using the former England striker and Nedum Onuoha as pundits for the Women’s Euro 2025 final.

Aluko, 38, hit out at Wright last year when she accused him of 'blocking opportunities' for women due to his prominence in the coverage of the women's game.

The former England Lionesses attacker would go on to apologise to Wright both publicly and privately, but the Match of the Day pundit responded by saying he could not accept Aluko's apology.

Nine months on, Aluko took to social media to address comments she made about the fallout of the Wright saga, claiming his name had been 'weaponised' against her before criticising his handling of the incident.

"The reality is we had an opportunity nine months ago to quieten this, to have an adult conversation and talk about our different perspectives," Aluko said in a video on Instagram .

"When I apologised to Ian Wright publicly and privately he had an opportunity to show the grace and the allyship that he showed to many other people. And to prove that he's the ally that everybody says he is.

"Unfortunately, my sincerity, my humility, was met with disrespect."

In a second video, Aluko added: "I've always been the person who ignores, whether I like that person or not, and you work together and move on. I'm putting it out there that I'm more than open to a conversation with Ian Wright. I've said my piece. I've given more context. I've been quiet for a very long time.

"The public will have their own views and opinions, the media will have their own views and opinions. I don't live for that validation, anyway. So, (I'm) open to a conversation and if it happens, great. If it doesn't happen, life moves on."

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Aluko's comments came after an appearance on the 90s Baby Show podcast, where she discussed the punditry line-up for the Women's Euro 2025 final. She pointed out that herself and Fara Williams, both of whom won over 100 caps for the Lionesses during their playing career, were not selected to present the final.

Aluko was part of ITV's coverage for the tournament but was not used in the final. Wright covered the game for ITV, while Onuoha, a former Manchester City defender, was part of the BBC panel.

Aluko said: “Last year, at the Women’s Lionesses final, I’m sat in the stands, I wasn’t on ITV for the final, Fara Williams was sat next to me, Fara Williams has 170 caps [172 caps] for England, something ridiculous, I think she’s the most-capped player, she’s sat in the stands.

“The two broadcasters that had the rights for the game – ITV and BBC – on BBC you’ve got Ellen White, Steph Houghton and Nedum Onuoha, no offence to Nedum Onuoha, nothing against him, I don’t know whether he played for England or not, but you’re on the main panel for the final for England Women.

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“Let’s go over to ITV, I’m in the stands with 105 caps, so you’ve got two women, between us we’ve got 290 caps, something ridiculous, you turn over to ITV and it’s Ian Wright, Emma Hayes and Kaz [Karen] Carney.

“So out of six punditry spots, two have gone to men. Meanwhile you’ve got 290 caps, whatever it is, sitting in the stands.

“It’s nothing against Ian, it’s nothing against them, 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.”

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Laura Woods, one of ITV's leading sports presenters, appeared to disagree with Aluko's comments via social media on Monday morning.

On X, she wrote: "Caps don’t win automatic work and they don’t make a brilliant pundit either. 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 gate keep 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."

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