Pundit apologises after criticising Jeremy Doku's plan to attend birth
Manchester City winger Jeremy Doku will leave Belgium's 2026 World Cup camp to be present at the birth of his first child. On French TV show L'Equipe de Choc a pundit criticised the decision, saying "The baby will still be there afterwards" and calling walking away from the World Cup "a disgusting moment." The pundit later apologised for those remarks, and the episode highlights the clash between elite international tournaments and players' family commitments.
"Winger Jeremy Doku has been criticised for saying he wants to leave Belgium's World Cup camp to be with his wife when she gives birth to their first child." Happy Father's Day yall www.bbc.com/sport/footba...
Bar Mageddon56i thought this was going to be about random internet comments, but???
Koen Van Laer26It's ironic that's is criticized in France, but in Belgium everyone is more or less: We'll miss him, but we understand & respect his choice
gandybob.bsky.social22It’s also a crappy clickbait headline from the BBC. The criticism came from a single journalist - she has been roundly criticised and Doku has been (rightly) supported. Anyone who thinks the World Cup is more important than the birth of their child needs their head checked.
Lisa Diedrich16That this TV presenter’s criticism is worthy of coverage is part of the problem: “Doku's plan to leave the USA and return home has brought fierce criticism from L'Equipe channel presenter France Pierron, who labelled a father ‘completely useless’ at the time of their child's birth.” Ridiculous.
Silky11not sure some miserable cunt mouthing off on facebook is news. only encourages them.
Prof Chris Jackson8Football fans are generally dreadful ☹️
Sam7I am struggling to understand why one random French sports journalist's insane comments should be reported on in the BBC
Skatingfool4He knows what's really important...
🤘Patricia Lee, Publisher4The men-folk sure get weird when men buck the patriarchy. Sports is nothing a but a paid hobby; dude has his priorities set correctly.
John Bentley4He should be criticised if he doesn't attend the birth
Marianne Dhenin4Meanwhile, a Norwegian colleague joined his wife in the delivery room via FaceTime for the birth of their first kiddo www.reuters.com/sports/socce...
Charles O’Connor4This is how my wife becomes a Man City fan
prt64.bsky.social4I have been lucky and successful in life but nothing, absolutely nothing comes close to becoming a parent at the point you kid comes into the world, not by a billion light years.
Living well2On one hand …this hasn’t happened yet? Belgium might not even advance beyond the group stage and if so it doesn’t matter at all. I haven’t seen much negative reaction and I personally immediately thought “good for him”… this seems like a manufactured controversy the papers want to push for the drama
Daffy2A smart and proper choice.
Leslie Molson2Yet they insist, erroneously, that we don't value fatherhood.
RGS Pol2Anyone who criticizes that needs a shot of humanity. There is nothing like being there for the birth of your children, especially the first. NOTHING!
Scott Gibson2Just needs a person who has never tried to have a kid to roll up and ask why they couldn’t have time things better.
DFW Sam2I’d do the same. Haters need to take a beat and carefully consider which of those two things are the most important. Also, any answer other than “his child”, is wrong.
gracenhope.bsky.social2Certainly supported by his family, team mates, country, and what a joyous celebration to meet your child and care for your wife! May it all go smoothly and with joy Oh well, one persons bad take is another persons clickbate
