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Eni Aluko has accused Ian Wright of ‘blocking’ opportunities for women in football punditry - Getty Images/Charlotte Wilson
It is the gesture that encapsulates Ian Wright’s support for female footballers and the perfect riposte to an unwarranted attack on his character.
It can be revealed Wright, who Eni Aluko accused of “blocking” opportunities for women and “dominating” punditry in football, has been paying for a player’s rehab from a serious knee injury for the last four months.
Kayleigh McDonald ruptured her anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) while playing for Stoke City in March last year. McDonald set up a GoFundMe page after being told by the club they would not pay the costs involved in her surgery.
Stoke City later backtracked and Telegraph Sport can reveal that Wright was the driving factor behind this, paying for a sports lawyer to help advocate for McDonald. She subsequently underwent ACL surgery and the club said they would pay for McDonald’s rehab, but, in November last year, she was told this would be withdrawn.
Wright helped secure funding until December and has since paid for McDonald’s rehab out of his own pocket. McDonald told Telegraph Sport that the cost of her rehab is around £1,700 a month.
“I wouldn’t be in a great place mentally if it wasn’t for Ian Wright,” McDonald said. “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.”
This is just one example of what Wright has done for women in football. In 2023, he teamed up with Barclays to help create the Ian Wright Coaching Fund. The initiative was created to increase the number of female coaches at the grass-roots level, particularly in under-represented areas, for girls playing football. Wright made a £15,000 donation and as many as 664 new female coaches were funded to attend their Level One training course.
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Wright is a big advocate of the women’s game - Arsenal FC via Getty Images/Stuart MacFarlane
It is abundantly clear Wright cares deeply about women’s football. One of the most powerful television moments during the 2022 Euros was his impassioned speech on BBC Sport after England’s semi-final victory over Sweden.
He said: “Whatever happens in the final now, if girls are not allowed to play football in their PE, just like the boys can, what are we doing? We have to make sure they are able to play and get the opportunity to do so.”
His comments, together with the open letter penned by the England squad to the Government, was influential in bringing about a pledge for equal access to school sport for girls.
Few people in broadcasting have done more to promote and advocate for women’s football than Wright. He more than deserves his place as a pundit.
But Aluko’s claims that he is “dominating” the industry or blocking women from opportunities is simply not true.
In the 14-year history of the Women’s Super League, Wright has been a pundit for one match. He regularly appears as a pundit for Lionesses matches on ITV, but he does so alongside former England player Karen Carney and presenters Laura Woods and Seema Jaswal.
Wright was not a regular pundit for ITV at the 2023 World Cup. He worked two England games but attended every other match as a fan. In fact, the punditry and presenting teams at both ITV and the BBC were dominated by women.
The BBC had two male pundits – Jonas Eidevall and Scott Booth. ITV did not have any regular male pundits on its original line-up until Wright made an appearance later in the tournament. Aluko was front and centre of the ITV press photo for the tournament.
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Aluko front and centre of ITV‘s Women’s World Cup lineup
Sky Sports and the BBC share the TV rights for the Women’s Super League. Their punditry, presenting and commentary teams are predominantly made up of women. Sky Sports has Izzy Christiansen, Carney, Jen Beattie and Courtney Sweetman-Kirk, to name but a few. The BBC has the likes of Ellen White, Anita Asante, Rachel Brown-Finnis and Steph Houghton.
There is no substance to the argument that women are being blocked from punditry opportunities in women’s football.
Wright has a podcast, Crossways, with former England captain Houghton and on it the pair have raised a number of important issues in the women’s game. Only recently Beth Mead made an appearance to talk about breaking the taboo of women’s periods in football.
Wright has not responded to Aluko’s claims and he does not need to. He does not need to justify his presence in women’s football. He has been a vocal and powerful advocate for the game and women, which has included supporting Aluko during times she has suffered abhorrent social media abuse. The women’s game needs people like Ian Wright. The sport is lucky to have him.
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