Doku Defends Pierron After World Cup Criticism
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- Jeremy Doku said he is "not against" L'Equipe presenter France Pierron, who had labelled a father "completely useless" at the time of his child's birth, and asked people not to be too harsh on her.
- Pierron was taken off air by L'Equipe until the end of the current season after the outlet apologized and said her comments were "very far removed" from its values.
- Doku missed Belgium's 0-0 group-stage draw against Iran to fly back to the UK for the birth of his son, Praise, during the second week of July.
- Belgium later confirmed the 24-year-old travelled to London "with the approval of and accompanied by one of our team doctors," after his absence was initially explained as illness.
- Doku played 86 minutes of Belgium's opening 1-1 draw with Egypt in Group G before departing the squad.
- Doku told Reuters before the tournament he intended to leave camp for the birth even if Belgium were still in contention, a plan that drew fierce criticism from Pierron at the time.
- Doku acknowledged the backlash on his YouTube channel, saying he understood why some people questioned the timing and conceded the situation "looked too perfect."
Why it matters: Doku's decision to publicly defend a critic who mocked him over a legitimate family priority — even as Pierron lost her on-air role — flips the usual athlete-vs-media dynamic. The Manchester City winger effectively shut down a pile-on while Pierron, who didn't face a formal firing but was sidelined for the season, took the institutional hit for comments Doku himself never demanded.
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