Simon Jordan On Eni Aluko’s Comments About Ian Wright And Male Pundits In The Women’s Game

Simon Jordan and Jim White are joined by reporter Kathryn Batte to discuss Eni Aluko’s comments on Ian Wright and the women’s game.

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One headline uh certainly in the Daily Telegraph this morning sports section caught my eye. Alco right blocking female pundits. Now what is this about? Basically it boils down to this. Should male pundits stay out of the women’s game? Anna Aluku of course the former England and Chelsea forward. Um she was asked specifically about Ian Wright and I’ll explain this but we’ll play a clip of any in a second and what she said. Any Aluku has accused Ian Wright of blocking opportunities for women and quotes dominating punditry. Any claimed that there are just one or two regular pundit spots open to women who want to make their way into football broadcasting. So, as I say, any was asked specifically about Ian Wright’s involvement in the women’s game, both as an advocate of the women’s game and as a pundit. And this was Annie answering that on BBC Radio 4’s Women’s Hour. I’ve worked with Ian a long time and and uh you know I think he’s a brilliant broadcaster but um 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 and the fact of the matter is is as I said there is a limited amount of spaces. I can’t dominate the men’s game in the way that you know you use Ian as an example Ian is dominating the women’s game. So, do you think it’s wrong that he is? I I don’t know about wrong, but I think we need to be conscious. We need to make sure that women are not being blocked from having a pathway in broadcasting in the women’s game. It’s still new. It’s still growing. Um 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, uh, 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. So, my takeaway from that is, is Ian Wright taking up a spot that a woman should really take up herself uh, in terms of punditry in the women’s game? And that really is what Annie Aluko is directing us to look at. Katherine Batty is the Telegraph women’s football reporter. Katherine joins us live this morning. Katherine, good morning. What do you make of any’s comments? Um, well, I think they’re fundamentally flawed by the fact that Ian Wright isn’t dominating in the women’s game. He’s done one match as a pundit in the history of the women’s Super League. U, yes, he he’s a pundit on, you know, Lioness’s matches. Um, but you know, you look at the 2023 World Cup, he wasn’t he wasn’t on a contract with ITV. I think he did two games. He attended every other game as a fan. So, it’s just not true that he’s dominating the women’s game. I think he does a lot for women’s football. He’s a very passionate advocate for it. Um, a passionate supporter and yeah, he does a little bit of punditry as well. Um, but that’s a good thing. I think you know someone with Ian’s profile um raising you know um awareness of of the women’s game and championing it is good for women’s football but he’s not dominating it by any stretch. He’s not. So so in view I think I know the answer to to the next question then after what you’ve said Katherine. Do you believe that male pundits should stay out the women’s game and give women more of an opportunity to speak about their own game themselves? I I think it depends how good you are. I think that’s that would be my that would be how I see it. You know, if Ian Wright, for example, um he does his research on women’s football. He’s knowledgeable about it and that’s why he works in women’s football. And if there were other male pundits that had the same knowledge as him, I just don’t think there are as many male pundits out there that are as knowledgeable about the women’s game as Ian Wright are. And that’s why we don’t see as many men in women’s football. Um and you know, likewise of women working in men’s football. I think I think it just comes down to how good you are. and if you are good enough you should be giving me opportunities. I don’t think there should be this situation of well you know we shouldn’t have men working in women’s football because you know the same reason why people say that we shouldn’t have women working in men’s football at the end of the day I think if you’re a good enough broadcaster and a good enough pundit you will get the opportunities as Katherine says um Simon Wright has been a strong advocate of the women’s game and as Katherine said he is knowledgeable about the women’s game what do you what do you what’s your takeaway on any of Luca’s comments I I don’t have a particular view on whether he dominates that space or not. That’s down to the broadcasters. Her issue is with the broadcasters and what they want. The scale of the women’s game needs to grow for the interest levels to be enhanced and for the opportunities to be created. The issues around the women’s game is that broadcasters are paying virtually nothing for them. Uh so the game in and of itself can’t scale up, which means it can’t create opportunities. I mean, I think any I don’t know what point she’s making. Um, she seems to always want to make a point about some discrimination of some shape or form, uh, about opportunities that seem to evade people. I agree wholeheartedly with Katherine’s point about merit. Um, I think there are arguments being raised in a rather uncou’s game that some of the women taking positions of observational punditry aren’t qualified to be in that space. And I happen to agree with some of that, but I don’t agree with the way the argument is being advanced by people like Joey Barton. I think it’s uncou. I think the bottom line is is that merit should be the the the driving factor, but I would like to see the women’s game being patronized in a certain way. I’d like to see more women involved in it. I’d like to see more women owners getting involved in being being able to uh create opportunities inside their their own framework because we are constantly being told about the way the patriarchal system is set up and it disadvantages situations like women’s football. I mean, I would like to hear people like in Luca have a voice when it comes to more impressing issues like the situation in grassroots football where biological males are playing in women’s football and the lionesses and people like this are not saying anything about it because they’re too cowardly because they’re worried about it being cancelled. I do not think that Ian Wright is prejudicing opportunities for good women commentators to be involved in their own sport. And this is a this is also a scenario where we’re seeing women’s sport constantly saying, well, we think that Sabrina Serena Redmond should be the England’s men’s manager. I want women’s football to to be developed. I want women to be at the center of it and I want them to be good at what they’re doing. And if Ian Wright is adding a little bit of stardust that creates some profile and some interest and broadcasters want to spend some more money and then create more opportunities, surely it’s a sprat to catch a mackle and ends to a means. C Katherine, finally, does any have a point though when she says men need to be aware that you’re in a growing sport, a growing sport for women? And we haven’t always had these opportunities. So, it’s about the awareness and supporting other women through that pathway. In other words, give the opportunity that Wright’s getting to other women who are coming through. Do you agree with that? Um, yeah, but I think that that’s an issue for the broadcasters. that’s not, you know, Ian Wright’s responsibility at the end of the day. Um, if the broadcasters want him and are using him, that, you know, that’s clearly what they want. So, I think maybe that conversation needs to be with with the broadcasters who who show women’s football matches. And, you know, people like Ian Wright, um, he’s done so much to support female pundits, you know, when they have gone through some some really horrible social media abuse. He’s been one of the loudest voices of, you know, kind of supporting them and also supporting women in football. I mean, he he set up a um you know, a coaching fund to get more female coaches into the women’s game. You know, this is somebody that cares really really deeply about women’s football. And um I just thought it was a shame that you know, he was being kind of criticized for, you know, almost, you know, suggesting that he’s blocking opportunities, which I just don’t think is true. Katherine, thank you very much indeed. Katherine Batty, women’s football reporter in the Telegraph. Um I I should add actually um that Katherine reported this morning that Ian Wright, who we’ve just been talking about, um Ian Wright came in and paid for a player’s rehab from a serious knee injury over the past four months. Kaye McDonald ruptured an anterior cruciate ligament while playing for Stoke City in March last year. She set up a GoFundMe page um after the club told her they won’t pay for the cost of the surgery and Ian Wright came in and out of his own pocket has helped with the payment and the rehab. So well done to Ian Wright on that. Much more coming your way the other side of 11:00. Jim White and Simon Jordan Monday to Friday mornings from 10 on DAB via the Talk Sport app and on your smart speaker. Talk sport.