Former England footballer Eni Aluko has denied "attacking" Ian Wright, just over 24 hours after claiming he is "dominating" punditry in women's football.
The ex-Chelsea forward took to Instagram yesterday to clarify her controversial comments made during a BBC Radio 4 Woman's Hour interview.
Aluko's remarks about Wright's extensive involvement in the women's game sparked significant backlash across the sporting community.
In her original interview on Wednesday, Aluko acknowledged Wright as a "brilliant broadcaster" but suggested he should be "aware of just how much he's doing in the women's game".
Eni Aluko hit out at Ian Wright over his dominance of the punditry scenePAIn her Woman's Hour interview, Aluko elaborated on her concerns about Wright's prominence in women's football.
"The fact of the matter is, there is a limited amount of spaces available," she stated.
Aluko, 38, questioned whether women were being blocked from pathways into broadcasting in their own sport.
She suggested that men need to be "aware" they are in "a growing sport for women" where opportunities haven't always been available.
Wright, 61, has been a strong advocate for women's football, anchoring the Women's Euro 2025 draw and launching a podcast with Steph Houghton.
He also works alongside Kelly Cates at the BBC.
Attempting to defuse the situation, Aluko posted on Instagram: "I'm sharing this full episode here again so people can actually listen to everything I said with full context."
She firmly stated: "Contrary to clickbait media headlines no one was 'attacked' or 'accused' during this interview."
Former England international Eni Aluko faces being axed by ITV following her controversial comments about Ian Wright "blocking" female pundits and "dominating" women's football coverageGETTYAluko reiterated her respect for Wright, noting: "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."
Prior to this clarification, Aluko had briefly shared a cryptic post referencing actor Chadwick Boseman taking a pay cut to ensure Sienna Miller received equal pay.
She added a bullseye emoji before deleting the story.
Industry insiders suggest Aluko's remarks could potentially impact her future broadcasting opportunities with ITV.
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Eni Aluko took to Instagram to clarify her comments
The former England international has previously worked alongside Wright for ITV's coverage of the Lionesses.
Reports indicate her comments "may have put any future punditry role with the broadcaster at risk."
This comes despite ITV publicly supporting Aluko earlier this year when she faced online abuse from Joey Barton.
