Laura Woods hit out at Eni Aluko in a series of social media posts on Monday after she doubled down on her view of male pundits – but the ex-England forward has since responded
11:50, 10 Feb 2026Updated 12:14, 10 Feb 2026
Eni Aluko hit back at comments made by Laura Woods(Image: talkSPORT)
Eni Aluko has accused Laura Woods of gaslighting her after the ITV and TNT Sports presenter said her latest comments are “dragging women’s punditry backwards”.
Former England international Aluko came back into the spotlight over the weekend after she called for women’s football to be “gatekept” as she doubled down on her view that male pundits, including ex-Arsenal forward Ian Wright, are blocking opportunities for females in the game.
Aluko, 38, had faced criticism last April for first starting the feud against Wright and claiming he needed to be aware of “how much he’s doing in the women’s game”. Aluko, who scored 33 times in 105 matches for England, suggested that Wright has made it more difficult for female pundits to find a place in the industry. She later apologised, but Wright didn’t accept her gesture, saying he was “disappointed” by her comments.
JOIN US ON FACEBOOK! Latest news, analysis and much more on Mirror Football’s Facebook page
READ MORE: Eni Aluko reveals ITV’s reason for ‘snubbing her and prioritising Ian Wright’READ MORE: Eni Aluko fires back at Laura Woods and makes Ian Wright allegations as row gets personal
Then, after Aluko reiterated her stance on male pundits, Woods took aim at her ITV colleague on X on Monday morning in a series of posts. Woods said that Aluko’s remarks will “not only drag women’s sport backwards, it will drag women’s punditry in all forms of the game backwards”.
Reacting to them, Aluko admitted she felt she was “gaslit” by Woods’ latest comments.
Speaking on talkSPORT on Tuesday morning, Aluko said: “I respect Laura’s opinion and always have done. I think it’s helpful for her to outline the attributes that go into what you consider a brilliant pundit.
“[Number of] Caps is obviously part of that, as I explained. Caps isn’t the decider but it’s an objective way to say that a person has enough experience to talk about this specific game.
Eni Aluko speaking on talkSPORT on Tuesday morning(Image: talkSPORT)
“It’s interesting because Laura was one of the people I would consistently go to. We got on like a house on fire and I would go and ask her how she thought things went.
“Laura, consistently… and I had to look at the messages yesterday and thought ‘hold on, I feel a bit gaslit here’… Laura consistently said to me ‘I think you’re a brilliant broadcaster and pundit’.
“So I think there’s a little bit of serving her argument at this point. Which I respect, she doesn’t agree and that’s fine. But I think there’s an insinuation in there that you don’t meet the standard. I’ve worked too hard for people just to conclude that because you’re not seeing me on screen, you’re not good enough. That’s not true.”
talkSPORT presenter Jim White mentioned the “gaslit” comment before Aluko swiftly backtracked somewhat and replied: “Not gaslit, I don’t want to say that because she has a view and I appreciate her view.
“She mentioned about little boys being important for the women’s game now and I agree.
“When I see little boys coming to women’s games now, they have the women on the back of their shirts, they don’t have the names of male pundits.”
Join our new WhatsApp community and receive your daily dose of Mirror Football content. We also treat our community members to special offers, promotions, and adverts from us and our partners. If you don’t like our community, you can check out any time you like. If you’re curious, you can read our Privacy Notice.
Sky Sports discounted Premier League and EFL package
This article contains affiliate links, we will receive a commission on any sales we generate from it. Learn more
£49
£35
Sky
Sky has slashed the price of its Essential TV and Sky Sports bundle ahead of the 2025/26 season, saving members £336 and offering more than 1,400 live matches across the Premier League, EFL and more.
Sky will show at least 215 live Premier League games next season, an increase of up to 100 more.