The former England international Eni Aluko’s appearance on BBC Radio 4’s Woman’s Hour prompted lines to be drawn between her and fellow pundit Ian Wright. “There’s a finite amount of opportunities and I think that men need to be aware of that,” said Aluko, when asked whether it was wrong that Wright was covering women’s football. The affair has been messy, with Aluko, a trailblazer in many areas, publicly apologising and Wright, a passionate champion of the women’s game beloved by players and fans for that support, rejecting the apology.
It has been a wholly disappointing episode that has, in focusing on Wright, drawn attention away from a legitimate conversation on whether the number of women pundits, commentators and presenters in football is improving.
