Eni Aluko faces ITV AXE over accusing colleague Ian Wright of 'blocking' female pundits from TV work

Eni Aluko faces being axed by ITV after accusing Ian Wright of 'blocking' female pundits and 'dominating' coverage of women's football.

Insiders told MailOnline the former England international's comments 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.

And her stinging criticism of ex-Arsenal star and veteran pundit Wright, 61, was equally puzzling to followers of the sport, given he's been a major advocate of the women's game and publicly supported Aluko, 38, when she faced criticism on social media after a punditry slip-up during the 2022 men's World Cup in Qatar.

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.

'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.

Ian Wright (right) has been accused by Eni Aluko (left) of blocking opportunities for women

Aluko and Wright are frequent co-pundits, working together for ties including Women's World Cup qualifiers in 2021 (pictured)

'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.'

MailOnline approached ITV, Aluko and Wright for comment.

Aluko's views on Wright were made during an appearance on Radio Four's Women's Hour, 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 said ITV continuing to employ Wright's to cover the women's game hampered the chances of female pundits coming into the industry.

Aluko, who won 105 England caps, 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.'

Aluko suggested Wright should be aware that he is in a sport where many women aren't given the same opportunities

Aluko made 105 appearances for the Lionesses and played Chelsea and Juventus

Aluko's comments have jarred with some fans given he has only ever covered one WSL game as well as 11 England games in the last two seasons

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.

'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.'

Aluko's belief the former Match of the Day pundit 'dominates' women's football jars especially when taking into consideration he has only ever worked on one game in the history of the WSL (Women's Super League) - Arsenal versus Liverpool in March - and covered 11 games for the Lionesses during the past two seasons.

During the Sarina Wiegman side's victorious 2022 Euros campaign, Wright was one of only two males in the BBC's official punditry team, along with then Arsenal women's boss Jonas Eidevall.

And for the 2023 Women's World Cup in Australia and New Zealand, ITV and BBC had a combined total of 25 pundits, presenters and commentators - 23 of those were women, including Aluko.

Wright was brought in as an additional pundit for two of those ITV live broadcasts but he attended all the other games as a fan.

Arsenal's former record goalscorer has also helped fund over 660 women to get their FA 'Introduction to Football' qualification via his Ian Wright Coaching Fund.

The former Arsenal legend has also helped fund over 660 women to get their FA 'Introduction to Football' qualification

Wright has been paying for Stoke City's Kayleigh McDonald's ACL rehab after her club refused to pay out for it

Plus, the ex-England striker - who won 33 caps for the Three Lions - has been paying for Stoke City's Kayleigh McDonald's ACL rehab after her club refused to pay out for it.

She told the Telegraph: 'I wouldn't be in a great place mentally if it wasn't for Ian Wright.

'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.'

Wright retired from Match of the Day last season having first appeared as a pundit back in 1997.

He's now a regular on Gary Neville's The Overlap

YouTube series, alongside Roy Keane and Jill Scott, and he launched a podcast alongside ex-England skipper Steph Houghton last year about the women's game.

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