Laura Woods dismisses bias claims over Arsenal-focused Champions League final coverage

Laura Woods has rejected accusations that her role as host of TNT Sports’ Champions League final coverage was compromised by her support for Arsenal, after the Gunners lost on penalties to Paris Saint-Germain following a 1-1 draw over 120 minutes in Budapest on Saturday.

The 38-year-old presenter, a self-confessed Arsenal fan, anchored the broadcast alongside pundits Martin Keown, Owen Hargreaves and Steven Gerrard. Criticism of the coverage was crystallised by a piece in the Telegraph, which argued the show was “all Arsenal, all the time, thanks to fan presenter Laura Woods and a pundit roster loaded lopsidedly in favour of the north Londonders at the expense of PSG balance.”

Woods responded sharply on X. “Can’t really help it if my team makes the final and I’m contracted to work that show,” she wrote. She also addressed a separate complaint that French broadcaster and PSG supporter Julien Laurens was absent from the studio once the match began, explaining: “We’d never invite him to commentate, he’s not a commentator or a footballer to offer match punditry.”

Woods went on to list the PSG access her team had secured. “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,” she wrote.

The presenter also drew a comparison with the upcoming World Cup, where she will work for ITV Sport. “Wait until they see how ‘biased’ the World Cup coverage on both ITV and BBC is. Hint. It’ll be mostly English…” she added, noting that pundits including Roy Keane, Ian Wright, Gary Neville and Karen Carney will feature for ITV, alongside analysts Emma Hayes, Patrick Vieira and Ally McCoist.

The final itself drew a significant audience, with TNT Sports attracting around 7 million viewers and peaking at approximately 26.6 per cent of the UK viewing population. The Guardian separately reported that an estimated 16.2 million UK viewers watched the match through illegal streams.

Arsenal’s appearance in the final was their first since facing Barcelona in 2006, and Mikel Arteta’s side had been chasing a domestic and European double after winning the Premier League title.