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ITV has offered strong public backing to Ian Wright in its first public comment since he was criticised by Eni Aluko. Last Wednesday, Aluko said Wright “should be aware of” how much punditry work he was doing in women’s football and that it was important “women are not being blocked from having a pathway into broadcasting in the women’s game”.
The former England and Chelsea forward issued an apology on Friday on Instagram, to which Wright responded on the same platform on Saturday by saying he could not accept it.
The pair have worked together as pundits covering England men’s and women’s matches on ITV for years. An ITV spokesperson said: “Ian’s standing in the sport is beyond question. As one of the UK’s most respected and much-loved footballers and sporting broadcasters, with a career spanning nearly four decades, Ian is an incredible advocate, ally and brilliant broadcaster of women’s football from a grassroots level as well as at the highest international competitions.”
ITV’s remark will raise further questions about Aluko’s future in its punditry ranks. The broadcaster has a big summer of football, with exclusive live rights to England men’s World Cup qualifiers in June and joint live rights with the BBC for the Lionesses’ defence of the European Championship in Switzerland the following month.
Although ITV has not announced its presenting team for the tournament Wright will be involved, as he was throughout its coverage of the qualifiers. ITV has confirmed Wright will be part of its FA Cup final team next month when his former club Crystal Palace meet Manchester City, 35 years after he came off the bench to score twice for Palace in a 3-3 draw in the final against Manchester United.
Aluko wrote in her social media apology to Wright: “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.”
Wright’s Instagram post in response was “liked” by several England players, including Alessia Russo, Mary Earps, Lauren Hemp and Alex Greenwood, as well as by the former international turned pundit Izzy Christiansen.
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“I’ve got to say I’m very disappointed by what Eni has said,” Wright 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. So, for me, I’ve seen your apology on social media, but I can’t accept it. But I also want to move on from it.”
