Eni Aluko's full accusations and sack threat as Ian Wright gesture says it all

Aluko has caused a stir with her latest comments about fellow pundit Ian Wright

Eni Aluko is reportedly facing being axed by ITV following her recent criticism of fellow pundit Ian Wright.

The former England international hit the headlines once more this week after claiming the former Arsenal striker was potentially blocking opportunities for female pundits covering women's football.

In an interview with Radio Four's Women's Hour Aluko said: "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."

When asked if she thought it is wrong for Wright to be at the forefront of coverage of women's football, she added: "I don’t know about wrong, but I think we need to be conscious and we need to make sure that women are not being blocked from having a pathway into broadcasting in the women’s game.

"It’s still new, it’s still growing. There’s a finite amount of opportunities and I think that men need to be aware of that.

"Men need to be aware that, you know, 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."

It has since emerged that Wright has been paying for a Stoke City Women player's rehabilitation from a serious injury out of his own pocket after the club withdrew their support.

Wright has been a positive voice for women's football for years, attending matches even when not working.

And according to the Telegraph, the Gunners legend has been financially supporting Kayleigh McDonald after she ruptured her ACL in March last year.

She was forced to set up a GoFundMe page after the Potters refused to pay for her rehab, which is said to have cost £1,700 a month.

The club made a U-turn after Wright paid for a sports lawyer to advocate for McDonald but in November they once again withdrew their support. Since December, Wright has reportedly been paying for her treatment personally.

“I wouldn’t be in a great place mentally if it wasn’t for Ian Wright,” McDonald said. “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.”

Now, the Daily Mail claim ITV may now cut ties with Aluko for her comments concerning Wright.

A source told the newspaper: "Aluko's on very thin ice, the comments she made were ill-judged to say the least.

"ITV pride themselves on having a diverse roster for both pundits and presenters across its sports content and there is a big female influence when covering women's football.

"So for her to criticise the use of Wright and suggest he's dominating the game is not only factually incorrect, it's actually very disrespectful given how he's helped raise the profile of women's football.

"Her comments have upset a lot of people and there have been serious discussions over whether she can work for the broadcaster again in the near future."

Aluko says her broadcasting career has already been harmed by her public feud with former Manchester City midfielder Joey Barton, whom she sued for libel over two posts made on social media platform X back in January.

The former Lionesses star won the first stage of her claim in the High Court, with a judge ruling that Barton's comments were defamatory when he accused her of being a 'race card player'.

The judge also concluded that while the other post did not have a defamatory meaning, it did have a defamatory 'innuendo meaning'.

Aluko says the episode has already harmed her punditry career, with Internet Commentator Database indicating she made 44 punditry appearances in 2023, with that figure dropping to 27 last year.

"This happens in lots of industries - when women stand up for themselves, their career takes a hit," she told BBC Radio 4.

"I've been doing broadcasting for 11 years. I'm not new to it. And in the last 18 months I've done the least TV I've ever done.

"That's just a fact. That's not a feeling, that's an opinion. That's a fact. So I think people can draw their own conclusions from that."

Aluko said the legal tussle with Barton had also forced her to leave her house in disguise because of the hearing, adding that Barton's tweets had made her feel 'more self-conscious'.

"I don't feel that I can just go out and be free to do what I do. For the first week I was disguising myself and some people think that's over the top, but that's genuinely the impact it had on me," she added.