There’s some baby drama at the FIFA World Cup, but not in the way you might think.
Earlier this month, Jérémy Doku, one of Belgium’s top players, told reporters that he intended to leave the World Cup when his wife, Shireen Doku, goes into labor with their first child. The 24-year-old winger said that Shireen’s due to give birth in the second week of July, by which point, the World Cup will have reached the quarter-final stage. In the event that Belgium is still in the competition, Doku said he would still want to attend the birth back in the UK, where he plays club soccer for Manchester City.
“It depends on when it happens, but it’s my first child, so I would definitely want to be there,” he said at the time. “If you ask me what I want, my answer is that nobody wants to miss the birth of their first child. But I also know that football involves many other considerations. I know the federation supports its players and understands their situations. We’ll see what we can do.”
Most people would be completely understanding of Doku’s predicament; however, his comments caused quite a stir in the sporting world, reigniting a longstanding debate, particularly in men’s soccer, about when it’s appropriate to prioritize family matters. Some of the harshest criticism came from a French broadcaster from Channel L’Equipe, named France Pierron, who said that it’s “completely useless” for a father to attend the “disgusting” birth of a child.
“You have to realize that it’s truly a privilege to participate in a World Cup, it’s an incredible joy,” she said during a now-viral clip from an on-air appearance. “There are hundreds of footballers who would kill to be in your shoes. It might never happen again in your life. It’s truly a special moment, a childhood dream come true. You’re living out a childhood dream, yet you’re going to walk away from it all to attend the birth of your child — a disgusting moment, if you’ll pardon the expression, where the dad is completely useless. He just holds your hand and takes a photo.”
Though she wasn’t the only person to voice this stance on the matter, Pierron’s extreme comments — particularly her description of childbirth as “disgusting” — sparked intense backlash. It became such a topic of conversation that other World Cup players were even asked about it during official press conferences. England striker Ollie Watkins, who is a father of two, was among those to stand in solidarity with Doku and criticize Pierron’s words, saying: “Someone labeled it disgusting, and I think, for a start, that’s not a way to label a birth. … It only happens once, your first child, welcoming them to the world is a blessing.”
Before long, the French media outlet L’Equipe responded to the widespread pushback, saying that it “disassociates itself” from Pierron’s comments, which were “very far removed from the group’s values.” And now, Pierron has taken to social media to address the “hurt” she caused.
“I was expressing a personal opinion, within the context of a contentious exchange. These remarks commit only me and in no way reflect a collective position. I understand that they may have shocked, offended or hurt some of you, and I am sorry for that,” she wrote in a string of X posts, which have been translated from French. “My intention was never to minimize the place or role of fathers with their partners and children.”
Well, you can make of that what you will. But what’s most important here is that the Belgian football federation recently announced that Doku made it back to London in time to witness the birth of his son earlier than planned on Monday, June 22. “Everything went perfectly, and the mother, father, and baby are all doing wonderfully,” a team doctor said in a statement. Doku only missed one match, Belgium’s 0-0 draw against Iran on June 21. The team said that he will rejoin the squad today to prepare for their next match, against New Zealand, on Friday.
Case closed! Congratulations to the Doku family! Maybe we can learn something from this? LMK your thoughts in the comments.
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