Piers Morgan has slammed Eni Aluko after the former Lionesses star claimed that Ian Wright was blocking opportunities for female pundits by ‘dominating’ women’s football coverage.
Aluko’s views on Wright were made during an appearance on Radio Four’s Women’s Hour on Wednesday, in which she also claimed her punditry career had been damaged by ex-Manchester City midfielder Joey Barton, who she’s suing for libel, after he dubbed her a ‘race card player’ on social media in January last year.
She had also said that ITV continuing to employ Wright to cover the women’s game hampered the chances of female pundits coming into the industry.
Aluko received backlash for the comments given that Wright, a much-loved pundit, has been a major advocate for the women’s game.
Not only did he launch a podcast alongside Steph Houghton last year about the women’s game and regularly speaks about it with Kelly Cates on the BBC, but he has previously come out in support of female pundits who have suffered abuse in the past, including Aluko.
And Morgan hit back at Aluko as he took to social media following her comments and pointed out the influence that Wright has had on the women’s game.
Piers Morgan has slammed Eni Aluko after the former Lionesses star hinted that Ian Wright was blocking opportunities for female pundits by ‘dominating’ women’s football coverage
Aluko (left) made the accusations about Wright (right) in a radio interview earlier this week
Aluko and Wright are frequent co-pundits (pictured above ahead of an England game in 2023)
‘What shameful disrespect to a man who has done more than any other male footballer to support and promote the women’s game,’ he posted on X.
‘Ms Aluko should focus on trying to be even 100th as good a pundit as @IanWright0 – which at the moment, she’s not.’
Morgan then shared a post on X from an account that had posted five clips criticising Aluko’s punditry.
The TV personality added: ‘If only Ian Wright would stop dominating the women’s football punditry and let a real expert like this do it.’
Aluko, who won 105 England caps, had said: ‘I’ve worked with Ian a long time and, you know, 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.’
When asked to clarify if she thinks it is wrong for Wright to be covering women’s football, Aluko 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.
Morgan hit out at Aluko and accused the former Lionesses star of ‘shameful disrespect’
He later mocked her punditry when circulating a clip of Aluko in action on social media
‘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.’
She later clarified her comments on Instagram as she posted on her story: ‘I’m sharing this full episode here again so people can actually listen to everything I said with full context.
‘Contrary to clickbait media headlines no one was “attacked” or “accused” during this interview. There are lots of examples of men in women’s sport. Ian Wright is one. And as I said in the interview – Ian Wright is brilliant.’
Mail Sport then reported on Thursday how Aluko faces potentially being axed by ITV following her comments.
Insiders said the former England international’s views have left bosses both angry and bemused given the broadcaster’s form for sending female-heavy teams to cover major international tournaments including the Euros and the World Cup.
Her outburst has sparked internal conversations within ITV regarding her future, with senior figures seriously debating whether to continue their association with the ex-Chelsea striker.
A TV source said: ‘Aluko’s on very thin ice, the comments she made were ill-judged to say the least.
Wright (pictured with Aluko in 2023) has previously defended her after she was trolled online
Aluko’s comments jarred with some fans given Wright is a big advocate of the women’s game
Aluko did later take to Instagram to claim that her comments had been taken out of context
‘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.’
Mail Online approached ITV, Aluko and Wright for comment.
Simon Jordan also weighed in on the debate on talkSPORT on Thursday.
‘I don’t have a particular view on if he dominates that space or not, that’s down to the broadcasters,’ he said. ‘Her issue is with the broadcasters and what they want.
‘The issues around the women’s game is that broadcasters are paying virtually nothing for them so the game itself can’t scale up which means it can’t create opportunities.
‘Eni, I don’t know what point she’s making, she seems to always to want to make a point about some discrimination in some shape or form, about opportunities that seem to evade people.
‘The bottom line is merit should be the driving factor but I would like to see the women’s game being patronised in a certain way. I would like to see more women involved in it, I would like to see more women owners being involved, being able to create opportunities inside their own framework, because we are constantly being told about the way the patriarchal system is set up and it disadvantages situations like women’s football.’
He continued: ‘I would like to hear people like Eni Aluko have a voice on more pressing issues like the situation in grassroots football where biological males are playing in women’s football and the Lionesses aren’t saying anything because they’re too cowardly because they’re worried about being cancelled.
‘I do not think Ian Wright is prejudicing opportunities for good women commentators to be involved in their own sport.’
This article was originally published by a www.dailymail.co.uk . Read the Original article here. .