Eni Aluko has reportedly been dropped by ITV for England Women's first match since she accused Ian Wright of blocking opportunities for female pundits.
The former Lioness star claimed in April that Wright, who works as a pundit on both men's and women's football matches, was blocking work opportunities for female pundits to work on women's football.
Aluko later apologised to Wright, though the ex-Arsenal ace rejected her apology. Following that exchange, ITV have not selected Aluko for punditry duty as the Lionesses face Portugal in the Nations League on Friday night.
The broadcaster has selected Anita Asante and Vicky Losada for punditry duty instead.
Eni Aluko has reportedly been dropped by ITV for England Women's first match since she accused Ian Wright of blocking opportunities for female pundits
PAAccording to the Daily Mail, the broadcaster has refused to confirm whether Aluko will be part of their coverage of the Women's European Championships.
Insiders claim she may even be facing the axe completely, with one saying the choice to not select her for coverage against Portugal "does not bode well" for her.
It was reported last month that Aluko's outburst had angered senior figures at ITV, who pride themselves on having a diverse and inclusive roster of pundits working on games for them.
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Eni Aluko has kept a low profile over the past two months after going for Ian Wright
PA
The 2023 Women's World Cup in Australia and New Zealand had seen ITV and rivals BBC have a combined 25 presenters, pundits and commentators, 23 of whom, including Aluko, were female.
In the aftermath of the saga, ITV released a statement backing Wright, which read: "Ian's standing in the sport is beyond question.
"As one of the UK's most respected and much-loved footballers and sporting broadcasters, with a career spanning nearly four decades, Ian is an incredible advocate, ally and brilliant broadcaster of women's football from a grassroots level as well as at the highest international competitions."
Wright has been a big advocate of the women's game for a number of years and shown his support in a number of ways, which made Aluko's criticism all the more bizarre.
He made an incredible gesture to Stoke City defender Kayleigh McDonald after she suffered a ruptured ACL and was forced to set up a GoFundMe page to raise funds when the club refused to pay for surgery.
Stoke eventually backtracked largely thanks to Wright, as he paid for a sports lawyer to advocate for McDonald.
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When the club pulled funding for her rehab at the end of last year, Wright started paying for it out of his own pocket, with the defender revealing that her rehab costs around £1,700 a month.
Aluko had been a regular sight on TV for the likes of TNT and ITV, often during Conference League matches involving the men's side of her old club, Chelsea, and England Women's international games.
However, after her sensational row with Wright, she was not selected for any of the major UEFA finals by TNT Sports.
Ian Wright refused to apologise Eni Aluko's apology last month
GETTYAt the end of April, Aluko had also quit her hosting duties at the Women's Football Awards owing to the backlash her comments had generated.
After facing Portugal this Friday, Sarina Wiegman's side then face Spain on Tuesday in another Nations League clash.
The games will serve as an early warm-up for this summer's European Championships being held in Switzerland, with the Lionesses kicking off their campaign against France.
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