A COUPLE of years ago I met Ian Wright for lunch at his local.
He was a true gent — paying both for lunch and my online parking when I failed to work the meter.
Over seabass and Guinness, it was an interview to promote a new healthy eating campaign (Guinness notwithstanding) he waxed lyrical about women’s football.
A Premier League and winner, the recipient of an OBE for services to football and charity, the ex-England international nevertheless politely asked me about my own fledgling footballing ‘career’, the highlight being a second round FA Cup goal against Aldershot FC, circa 2012.
A beautifully slotted-home right footer from 15 yards, for those interested.
For years now, he has been championing the women’s game — long before it was trendy to do so, and long before the Lionesses were rebranded with their PR-friendly, catchy moniker.
So to hear ex-Chelsea striker Eni Aluko taking an at Arsenal’s second highest scorer was as mean as it was short-sighted.
And I write this as a Spurs fan.
In an interview on Radio 4 Women’s Hour she said: “I’ve worked with Ian a long time and, you know, I think he’s a brilliant broadcaster. But 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.
“The fact of the matter is, there is a limited amount of spaces available. I can’t dominate the men’s game in the way that, you know, you used Ian as an example.
“I think we need to be conscious and we need to make sure that women are not being blocked from having a pathway into broadcasting in the women’s game.”;
Over the years, Ms Aluko has made much of the fact she’s a woman in broadcasting, and the hardships that follow.
In this instance, she’s not wrong because she’s a woman; she’s wrong and a woman.
For the 2023 Women’s World Cup in Australia and New Zealand, ITV and BBC had a combined total of 25 pundits and presenters — 23 of those were women. Including Eni.
has also helped fund over 660 women to get their FA ‘Introduction to Football’ qualification via his eponymous Coaching Fund, and has been quietly funding Stoke City’s Kayleigh McDonald’s ACL rehab after her club refused to pay.
In the wake of the online uproar that followed, Eni apologised for her offensive remarks.
This being an online world, people are still baying for her metaphorical blood — calling for ITV to axe her.
Ian, for his part, has thanked her for her apology but, . He added that he wanted to “move on from it”;, however.
Eni, who in 2017 received an £80,000 pay-out from after complaining about racism and discrimination by former England manager , shouldn’t lose her job over this.
We can’t live in a world where people are too scared to give interviews in case they stumble, and get cancelled.
The 38-year-old, who also recently won the first stage of a High Court — a madman who really shouldn’t be allowed anywhere near the game, men’s or women’s — wants to help grow the women’s game.
But, crucially, so does Wrighty. And he’s the one with the star power.
— and men like Ian: dads, brothers and uncles who have spent years giving up their Sundays and weekday evenings to coach or/and referee grassroots matches — women’s football would still be in the dark ages.
Eni has scored a huge own goal, but she will learn from it.
And, as Ian said, now we must move on.
PRINCE HOPES ALSO PERISH
WITH the , any hope had of redemption died too.
Ms Giuffre – who accused the Duke of sexually assaulting her three times – was a deeply troubled woman.
She had been widely mocked in recent weeks after she posted a photo of herself in hospital, claiming she had four days to live after being struck by a bus.
Police later described the incident as “minor”; with no significant injuries to report.
And two and a half years earlier her credibility was again called into question after she dropped her legal action against leading US lawyer Alan Dershowitz, admitting she may have been wrong in accusing him of having sex with her as a teenager.
While neither incidents were necessarily smoking guns – and it’s a lazy, cruel trope to cast doubt on victims of sexual abuse – Andrew must, surely, have thought there was a way back in to public life.
Now her death, by suicide, clearly demonstrates how traumatised she was by Jeffrey Epstein’s reign of terror, and all those – including Andrew – who came with it.
Any U-turn she may have made, will now never be made.
Glad you’ve come on home, Valerie
THERE’S only been one story in town this year.
And over the weekend, that story came to a very happy conclusion with the successful rescue of Valerie, the black and tan miniature dachshund.
To recap, the three year old sausage dog had gone missing in the Australian wilderness after her parents briefly left her in a playpen to go fishing on their camping holiday.
After being in the wild for 529 days – dodging venomous snakes and aggressive kangaroos – she was eventually caught following a concerted search and rescue plan.
Volunteers spent more than 1,000 hours looking for the pooch, and surveillance cameras plus a trap cage filled with snacks, her old toys and her parents’ clothes, eventually secured the sausage.
Meme of the week
