Laura Woods breaks silence on TNT Sports controversy as Steven Gerrard embroiled
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Liverpool FC NewsFeaturesSteven GerrardLaura Woods was at the helm of TNT Sports' coverage of the Champions League final as Arsenal was beaten on penalties by Paris Saint-Germain, with the presenter hitting back at claims of bias over the broadcastLaura Woods has reacted to the controversy(Image: Getty Images)Laura Woods has dismissed claims that TNT Sports made a mistake by allowing her to present its Champions League final coverage due to her Arsenal allegiance.Woods fronted the broadcaster's output as Arsenal succumbed to Paris Saint-Germain on penalties after a 1-1 stalemate across 120 minutes. The 38-year-old host makes no secret of her support for Arsenal and has been open about it across her social media platforms.
She was joined by pundits Martin Keown, Owen Hargreaves and Liverpool icon Steven Gerrard in Budapest on Saturday.The Gunners were appearing in their first Champions League final since their 2006 encounter with Barcelona, with Mikel Arteta's squad hoping to secure the double after clinching the Premier League title.TNT's presentation for British viewers naturally centered on Arsenal as the English representatives, though the approach didn't sit well with numerous viewers.The Telegraph published a piece stating: "Saturday's broadcast was all Arsenal, all the time, thanks to fan presenter Laura Woods and a pundit roster loaded lopsidedly in favor of the north Londoners at the expense of PSG balance."Woods was evidently irked by the criticism and took to X to respond. "Can't really help it if my team makes the final and I'm contracted to work that show," she posted.Steven Gerrard was part of the TNT Sports team(Image: Getty Images)Another supporter lamented the absence of broadcaster and journalist — and PSG fan — Julien Laurens once the game got underway."We'd never invite him to commentate, he's not a commentator or a footballer to offer match punditry," Woods responded."Post match we interviewed Luis Enrique, Nasser Al-Khelaifi and a number of PSG players.
Honestly this is tiresome."Woods, who'll be covering the forthcoming World Cup for ITV Sport, had another thought for her followers: "Wait until they see how 'biased' the World Cup coverage on both ITV and BBC is. It'll be mostly English..."Scotland has also qualified for the World Cup.Woods will be working alongside the likes of Roy Keane, Ian Wright, Gary Neville and Karen Carney in the studio, while Emma Hayes, Patrick Vieira and Ally McCoist will also contribute expert opinion for ITV throughout the competition, which begins on June 11TNT's broadcast of the Champions League final drew approximately 7 million viewers on Saturday, with its share peaking at roughly 26.6 percent of those watching television.That said, the Guardian has reported that an estimated 16.2m people across the United Kingdom viewed the fixture through illegal streams.Choose Liverpool.com as a 'Preferred Source' on Google News for quick access to the news you value.Champions LeagueLiverpool FCArsenal FCParis Saint-Germain FCSteven Gerrard