Eni Aluko's ex-England and Team GB Olympics team-mate Steph Houghton publicly speaks out to back 'super-hero' Ian Wright in TV pundits' fall-out

Eni Aluko’s former England team-mate Steph Houghton has thrown her support behind her podcast co-host Ian Wright as fallout from Aluko’s Woman’s Hour comments rolls on. 

Aluko initially accused Wright of ‘blocking opportunities for women’ in the women’s game in an incendiary appearance on the BBC Radio 4 programme. 

Immediately hit with a wave of backlash, the former Chelsea star walked back her comments and stressed that she had not intended to single out Wright – a vocal supporter of the growth of women’s football – on purpose. 

But in his first public comments in the wake of the controversy, Wright chose not to accept his occasional ITV co-pundit’s apology, instead calling for the public to ‘move on’. 

Among those who have supported Wright in the thick of the news cycle have been a number of women’s players past and present, as well as their employers at ITV. 

Houghton was the latest to join the chorus, dubbing Wright a ‘super-hero’ on their show Crossways – A Women’s Football Show’ on Tuesday. 

‘It’s been a bit of an up-and-down week,’ Wright admitted at the top of the programme. ‘But at the end of the day, it’s all sorted.’

After discussing football matters, Wright thanked his co-host for her support on the show, saying: ‘It’s always good to see you Steph, because you make me smile, because it’s been quite a tough week.’

Houghton was quick to interrupt, adding: ‘Ian, can I just say this, and this has not been pre-empted, I think I posted on Instagram: What you have done for our game is unbelievable and you’ve got to take all the credit that everybody’s thrown at you this last week because you are a super-hero. And I love working with you.’

‘I love you Steph,’ Wright responded. ‘To see you come out publicly like that for me it’s just nice. 

‘But I just wish… it’s not about the individual in the women’s game, it’s just about the collective. 

‘I’m not going to go into it, but I just really appreciate the public support that I got.’

Houghton has a long-running relationship with Wright, with the former Gunners starting their podcast in September 2024. 

But Houghton and Aluko have also known each other for some time, featuring together in the England set-up between 2007 and 2016. 

The pair were also both named to Team GB’s squad for the London 2012 Olympics. 

Wednesday saw Aluko take a step back from hosting duties at the Women’s Football Awards, with the ex-professional bowing out of the line-up just one day before the event in London. 

Aluko said in a statement that she was keen to give up the role so that there was nothing that could ‘deflect from the joy, recognition, and celebration that this event is all about.’ 

The hosting line-up will now only feature Gabby Logan and Jamie Carragher, who Aluko said she trusted to ‘bring their passion and energy to the stage’. 

Nor will Aluko be taking up her punditry position for Chelsea’s Europa Conference League tie against Djurgarden on Thursday evening, despite covering both legs of their previous quarter-final clash against Legia Warsaw, and five of the Blues’ matches broadcast on TNT this season. 

Mail Sport reported on Thursday that Aluko’s position at ITV was under scrutiny amid the fallout from her comments, which came during an appearance where she also claimed that her punditry career had been damaged by ex-Manchester City midfielder Joey Barton, who she’s suing for libel, after he dubbed her a ‘race card player’ on social media in January last year.

She had also said that ITV continuing to employ Wright to cover the women’s game hampered the chances of female pundits coming into the industry.

Aluko, who won 105 caps for England, issued an apology to Wright on Friday, saying that it was ‘wrong for lan’s name to be raised in that conversation’. 

Wright, however, did not accept her reframing of the comments.

‘I have to talk about this week and what’s going on, I don’t want to endlessly be asked about it,’ the former Arsenal striker said in a video on Instagram.

‘I’ve got to say, I’m very disappointed about what Eni has said, she knows how I’ve helped her, supported her publicly, and I know the previous conversations she’s had with me and my management.

‘I’ve seen the apology on social media, but I can’t accept it, but I also want to move on.

‘For anyone watching this, I really don’t need any further social commentary directed on any of this. The thing about where the women’s game is, it isn’t about me – it has to be about the collective.

‘Because of the past, we know the men blocked the women’s game for 50 years, because of the past we know the game has serious systemic challenges, and it’s going to take everyone to help fixes. So for me, I always give back to the game, it’s given me so much.

Aluko has since been left ‘traumatised’ by the backlash to their row, her mother Sileola told MailOnline, as a number of key figures have thrown their support behind Wright.

In the days that followed Wright’s sharing of the video, a number of players – many of them current or former Arsenal stars – have liked the post in an indication of their support for his message.

Among them include, Lionesses stars Lauren Hemp, Alessia Russo and Mary Earps, Gunners quartet Katie McCabe, Daphne van Domselaar, Lotte Wubben-Moy and Katie Reid, as well as former north London favourite Cloe Lacasse.