Posted on 06/22/2026 6:36:51 AM PDT by Morgana
French journalist France Pierron is believed to have been taken off air in the wake of criticising Belgium's Jeremy Doku over his decision to return home for the birth of his first child.
The Manchester City star's partner Shireen is heavily pregnant, with a due date in the second week of July - which could yet conflict with Belgium's knockout stage matches.
Doku made public his decision to fly back to Belgium before returning to North America in the eventuality of his side still playing in the tournament, which Pierron expressed her extreme disapproval of.
Pierron's outlet L'Equipe has since shared a curt statement distancing themselves from her comment, while journalist Clement Garin has reported that she has been stood down from Monday's episode of 'L'Equipe De Choc' - translated as 'The Shock Team' - where she had been expected to feature.
The journalist's comments that had first sparked disquiet saw Pierron describe birth as 'disgusting', and deem fathers 'useless' under the circumstances.
'The World Cup is an incredible joy,' she began her argument. 'There are hundreds of footballers who would kill to be in your shoes. It might never happen again in your life.
'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.
'You are not going to cut an umbilical cord; you can’t miss a World Cup.'
Despite widespread condemnation on her panel, she doubled down, adding: 'He is going to waste 10 hours, he will be exhausted and have an emotional meltdown. Your baby will always be there.'
(Excerpt) Read more at dailymail.com ...
Mon Dieu!
Comme c’est ignorant!
And made to severely apologize, preferably on the air.
That’s the sad truth.
Kudos to Mr. Doku for being a decent human being and keeping his priorities straight. And his Belgian team is crap anyway…
A woman close to her due date is not allowed to fly. So nope, she couldn’t join him.
A father is a not useless human in a delivery area. That was just a damn moronic statement. Guess all you dudes never see a birth go from normal to dangerous.
Yes, it does happen and the wife needs her husband there to help with decisions. If you value your job more than your wife and newborn, why is your negligence manly? Why even bother with a kid? Who cares about supporting his wife in a painful and life changing event? His duty is to his family not a sporting event.
That reporter is a heifer and a femnazi who hates other women.
Stupid game is an artificial. Just because millions believe it’s life and death, does not change the fact it’s not.
I agree the World Cup team needs are paramount it could be argued
But her comments demonstrate her crazy feminism bent as much as anything
I agree
And I agree with her mostly except for that perspective which is pretty ugly
Gosh.
Don't you just love those oh so cultured Europeans and their dedication to a children's game.
To quote Ron Swanson "Eurotrash. It is indeed a garbage Continent."
No.
The father needs to go to work and earn money. Support the family. Be an alpha male.
And once again. A father is just a wallet with legs.
That is liberal, not conservative.
And of course when the kids go wrong it is "but where was the father?" At work, doing the only thing you want him to do. Make money. Because your god is money.
Yeah, I can't imagine.
The worst thing we ever did and perhaps the beginning of the downfall of civilization is normalizing fathers not making being a father a priority but chasing the dopamine hit of approval from society who does not give a hoot about your children or you.
Being there and watching my children being born were the greatest moments of my life… far better than any childhood fantasy could have ever been.
Our children were adopted so I guess I don’t have standing. My biggest issue was calling the birth “disgusting”. I would expect that more from a 19th Century New England Methodist or a ten year old boy.
That would never have happened.
I am going to guess a member of the perverted rainbow team.
Like we need another anchor baby
C U Next Tuesday.
every expectant mother on the planet should fly into America to have their kid so they can be American... then bring the whole family in with it.
that’s what to expect if birthright citizenship is ruled legal in America by SCOTUS
expect Roberts to side with the democrats (he’s compromised, after all)
You all know I was being sarcastic?
The player should not be leaving his team in the midst of the World Cup, abandoning his teammates and fans for his child’s birth. He plays no role in the birth and for centuries men did not attend the birth...he can see the kid in a few weeks after the tournament run. He knew the date of the planned birth and could have declined an invite to the team. Do men leave the foxholes during time of war?
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