Doku Defends Journalist Who Criticized World Cup Exit
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- Jeremy Doku said he is "not against" L'Equipe presenter France Pierron, who labeled a father "completely useless" for leaving the World Cup camp during his child's birth.
- Doku told Reuters before the tournament he intended to leave camp for the birth even if Belgium were still in contention, and he ultimately missed the 0-0 group-stage draw against Iran.
- L'Equipe apologized for Pierron's comments as "very far removed" from its values, and the presenter was taken off air until the end of the season of her show.
- Doku flew back to the UK for the birth of his son, Praise, after playing 86 minutes of Belgium's opening 1-1 draw with Egypt in Group G, with his absence from the next match initially explained as illness.
- Belgium said the 24-year-old Manchester City winger traveled to London "with the approval of and accompanied by one of our team doctors."
Why it matters: By publicly defending the journalist who called him "completely useless" for leaving the World Cup camp for his son's birth, Doku inverted the expected athlete-vs-media narrative — his stated refusal to pile on came after Pierron had already been removed from air and L'Equipe had apologized for her remarks, reshaping how the controversy will be remembered.
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