Laura Woods has reacted with anger after being accused of bias for her work as a presenter for TNT Sports on the Champions League final between Paris Saint-Germain and Arsenal. The 38-year-old presenter, a self-confessed Arsenal supporter, anchored the channel's broadcast as Arsenal were beaten on penalties by PSG following a 1-1 draw over 120 minutes.
Woods Defends Coverage
Woods rubbished suggestions that TNT Sports should not have let her host their coverage because of her allegiance. An article in the Telegraph claimed the broadcast was "all Arsenal, all the time" due to Woods and a pundit roster loaded in favour of the north London club. This clearly annoyed Woods, who responded sarcastically on X: "Can't really help it if my team makes the final and I'm contracted to work that show."
Another fan complained that PSG fan Julien Laurens was not used after kick-off. Woods replied: "We'd never invite him to commentate, he's not a commentator or a footballer to offer match punditry. Post match we interviewed Luis Enrique, Nasser Al-Khelaifi and a number of PSG players. Gerrard and Hargreaves were also part of the whole show. Honestly this is tiresome."
World Cup Preview
Woods, who will work for ITV Sport at the upcoming World Cup, added: "Wait until they see how 'biased' the World Cup coverage on both ITV and BBC is. Hint. It'll be mostly English..." She will be joined by pundits including Roy Keane, Ian Wright, Gary Neville, Karen Carney, Emma Hayes, Patrick Vieira, and Ally McCoist for the tournament starting June 11.
Viewership and Illegal Streaming
TNT Sports' coverage attracted around 7 million viewers on Saturday evening, with a peak audience of 26.6 per cent of the viewing population. However, the Guardian reported an estimated 16.2 million UK viewers watched the match illegally.
