Eni Aluko tried to cash in by trademarking her name just days after explosive claim about Ian Wright and female pundits

ENI ALUKO applied to trademark her own name just days after blasting Ian Wright for blocking the path of female pundits.

Making such a commercial move could be a sign from the ex-England Lioness that she wanted to make the most of the uproar surrounding her comments.

But it’s backfired badly, as many leading TV stars and fans have sided with the Arsenal legend, and Aluko has complained of struggling to find work ever since she started the row last year.

On April 23rd, she told BBC Radio 4’s Woman’s Hour: “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. If we had a situation where there was an equal opportunity in the men’s game for broadcasters and coaches that there is in the women’s game, it’s a free for all.”

On May 13th, the 38-year-old applied to the Intellectual Property Office to register her name “Eni Aluko” under four classifications of “media content”, “decoration and art materials and media”, “printing of files from digital media”, and another which includes media relations, promotions, advertising and retail.

By this time, the argument had blown up and Ian Wright responded three days later with an Instagram post saying: “I’ve seen the apology on social media, but I can’t accept it – but I also want to move on from it.”

The trademark application was published in the trademark journal on May 29th and then registered on August 8th.

It was filed by her firm Crescenda Sport Ltd, which has submitted various other applications.

On its Instagram page, it states that the company is a “Sports careers agency offering internships & employment opportunities in the global sports industry for undergraduate & postgraduate student members”.

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But there’s only been six Instagram posts on the page, the last being eight years ago on January 6th 2018.

It links to the website http://www.crescendasport.com, which is now defunct.

Aluko found herself in the headlines again earlier this week after suggesting she and former England team-mate Farah Williams should have been part of the punditry team for the Women’s Euro 2025 final.

ITV went with a team of Ian Wright, Emma Hayes and Karen Carney, with Aluko arguing that she and Williams having more caps for England should have put them in pole position to lend their expertise to the broadcast.

Football broadcasting icon Laura Woods hit back at the claims, suggesting that good punditry comes from more than purely the amount of experience you have on the pitch.

She said in a response on X: “Caps don’t win automatic work and they don’t make a brilliant pundit either.

“The way you communicate, articulate yourself, do your research, inform your audience, how likeable you are and the chemistry you have with your panel are what makes a brilliant pundit.

“‘The women’s game should be by women for women,’ is one of the most damaging phrases I’ve heard. It will not only drag women’s sport backwards, it will drag women’s punditry in all forms of the game backwards.”

Aluko then clashed with Simon Jordan on talkSPORT and said she was quitting broadcasting in the UK as it’s a “very toxic space”.

She explained on the White and Jordan show: “I think in the UK… it’s a very toxic space for me. And I’m fighting now to just even have an opinion.

“There is a feeling that I can’t say anything without the instant backlash that comes with the fact people have already decided they don’t like you.”

Jordan, unimpressed with her recent comments, said during the show: “I don’t think you are particularly enlightening, illuminating, engaging or charismatic.

“The language that you use is, to me, it’s steeped in the sense of entitlement.”

SunSport has reached out to Aluko’s team for comment.