What to Know
It’s hard to imagine what could ever be more important to a parent than witnessing their child’s birth… unless, of course, you’re the French sportscaster who is probably wishing she could take back her words right now. After Belgium soccer player Jeremy Doku said that he planned to leave the World Cup if his wife went into labor with their son, France Pierron called childbirth “disgusting,” causing all kinds of backlash in the process.
France Pierron said that dads are “completely useless” during childbirth.
Earlier this month, Reuters reported that while Jeremy did go ahead with playing in the World Cup, his plan was to leave the tournament and be with his wife, Shireen, if she went into labor if Belgium was still in the competition. Her due date was the second week of July, so there was still a chance that he could play in the World Cup and make it home to his family.
“It depends on when it happens, but it’s my first child, so I would definitely want to be there,” Jeremy said. “If you ask me what I want, my answer is that nobody wants to miss the birth of their first child.”
Broadcaster France Pierron — a woman, mind you — couldn’t understand why he’d want to support his wife and see his own son come into the world and said as much on the French show Channel L’Equipe.
“You have to realize that it’s truly a privilege to participate in a World Cup, it’s an incredible joy. There are hundreds of footballers who would kill to be in your shoes. It might never happen again in your life,” she said. “It’s truly a special moment, a childhood dream come true.”
France continued, “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.”
Welp, there’s a lot to unpack here, isn’t there? Sure, dads might not be able to actually give birth, but does the woman who is doing it want to be left without her partner’s support?
Jeremy did end up going home to be there for his baby’s birth.
ESPN confirmed that Jeremy’s son, Praise, entered the world on Monday, and yes, the proud dad was able to make it home in time to be there for his birth. His wife must have been so relieved!
Even better: Not only was he able to make it back to London, but he will be able to rejoin his team in the U.S. now that baby Praise is here.
“Everything went perfectly, and the mother, father, and baby are all doing wonderfully,” Belgium’s team doctor, Brahim Hacene, said. “Jeremy will rejoin the group tomorrow evening in Seattle.”
The broadcaster is now apologizing.
France Pierron est une journaliste catastropjique épisode 39354.
— ElMehdito 🇨🇵 (@ElMehdito) June 20, 2026
Hautaine, insupportable, pense detenir la vérité absolue.
Après avoir rendu fou tout le bivouac du Dakar voilà qu'elle se permet de juger un père qui va assister à la naissance de son enfant ? https://t.co/K4SnI698eD
There was a ton of backlash against France for calling child birth “disgusting,” and she has issued an apology on X that has been translated into English from French.
“These remarks commit only me and in no way reflect a collective position. I understand that they may have shocked, hurt, or wounded some of you, and I am sorry for that,” she said. “My intention has never been to minimize the place or role of fathers with their partner and their child.”
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