Eni Aluko faces the ax by ITV after accused Ian Wright of having “blocked” female experts and “dominant” the coverage of women’s football.
The initiates told Mailonline that the comments of the former England international had left angry and perplexed patterns given the broadcaster form to send women’s teams to cover the main international tournaments, including the euros and the World Cup.
And her spicy criticisms of the former Arsenal star and veteran Wright, 61, were also confusing for sport enthusiasts, since he was a great defender of the female game and publicly supported Aluko, 38, when she faced criticism of social media after an expert who was subjected during the Men 2022 World Cup in Qatar.
His explosion sparked internal conversations within the ITV concerning his future, senior personalities seriously debating to continue their association with the former Chelsea striker.
A television source said: “Aluko on the very thin ice, the comments she made were poorly judged.
“ITV is proud to have a diverse list for experts and presenters through its sporting content and there is a great female influence to cover women’s football.
Ian Wright (right) was accused by Eni Aluko (on the left) of blocking opportunities for women
Aluko and Wright are frequent co-pits, working together for links, including the qualifications of the Women’s World Cup in 2021 (photo)
“So, for her to criticize the use of Wright and suggest that he dominates the game is not only incorrect, he is in fact very disrespectful given how he helped enhance the profile of women’s football.
“Her comments have turned a lot of people upside down and there have been serious discussions on the question of whether she can work again for the broadcaster in the near future.”
Mailonline approached Itv, Aluko and Wright to comment.
Aluko’s opinions on Wright were made during an appearance in the female hour of Radio Four, in which she also said that her monuditment career had been damaged by the former Manchester City midfielder, Joey Barton, whom she continues for defamation, after he nicknamed it a “ racing cards ” on social networks in January.
She said ITV continuing to use Wright to cover the female game has hampered the chances of female experts in industry.
Aluko, who won 105 Caps from England, said: “ I worked with Ian for a long time and, you know, I think he is a brilliant diffuser, but I think he is aware of what he does in the female game. I think it should be aware of it.
“The fact is that there is a limited amount of available spaces. If we had a situation where there was an equal opportunity in the male game for the broadcasters and the coaches that there is in the female game, it is a free for all.
“But this is not the case. I cannot dominate the male game in the way you know, you used Ian as an example.
Aluko suggested that Wright should be aware that he is in a sport where many women do not have the same opportunities
Aluko made 105 appearances for lionesses and played Chelsea and Juventus
Aluko’s comments took place with some fans since he has never covered a single WSL match as well as 11 games in England in the past two seasons
When he was asked to clarify if she thinks it is bad for Wright to cover female football, Aluko added: “ I don’t know about it, but I think we have to be aware and we must make sure that women are not prevented to take a way to the broadcast in the female game.
“It’s still new, it always grows. There is a limited amount of opportunities and I think men must be aware of it.
“Men must be aware that, you know, you are in a growing sport, a growing sport for women, and we have not always had these opportunities, and it is therefore conscience and support other women through this path.”
Aluko’s belief, the former match of the day, the expertise “dominates” women’s football pots, especially when he examines that he only worked on a match in the history of WSL (female super league) – Arsenal against Liverpool in March – and has covered 11 games for the lionesses in the past two seasons.
During the victorious campaign of Sarina Wiegman, the victorious campaign of 2022, Wright was one of the only two men of the official BBC team, as well as the female boss of Arsenal, Jonas Eidevall.
And for the Women’s World Cup in 2023 in Australia and New Zealand, ITV and BBC had a total combined of 25 experts, presenters and commentators – 23 of them were women, including Aluko.
Wright was brought as an additional expert for two of these ITV Live broadcasts, but he attended all other games as a fan.
The former record scorer of Arsenal has also helped finance more than 660 women to obtain their qualification as an introduction to football via his coaches fund Ian Wright.
The former Arsenal legend has also helped finance more than 660 women to obtain their Football qualification of Football Introduction
Wright paid for the ACL rehabilitation of Kayleigh McDonald’s from Stoke City after his club refused to pay for that
In addition, the former striker of England – who won 33 caps for the three Lions – paid for the ACL rehabilitation of Kayleigh McDonald’s from Stoke City after his club refused to pay for this.
She said to the Telegraph: “I wouldn’t be in a great place mentally if it was not for Ian Wright.
“I would probably still wait for my surgery if it was not for him. For him to do this for me, someone he did not know, I think there should be more spotlights that shine on him.
Wright retired from the match of the day last season after appearing for the first time as an expert in 1997.
He is now used to the overlap of Gary Neville
The YouTube series, alongside Roy Keane and Jill Scott, and he launched a podcast alongside the former Steph Houghton Skipper last year about the women’s match.
