Doku says he is "not against" journalist who criticised him at World Cup
Jeremy Doku said he is "not against" the journalist who criticised him at the World Cup in comments published on 11 August 2026. The Manchester City winger addressed the backlash over his decision to leave Belgium's camp to be present for the birth of his first child.
Doku's wife Shireen was due to give birth during the second week of July and he told Reuters before the start of the tournament he intended to leave the camp to be at the birth even if his side were still in contention. He was part of the Belgium squad that reached the quarter-finals of the World Cup.
France Pierron, a presenter on L'Equipe channel, labelled a father "completely useless" at the time of their child's birth; L'Equipe later apologised and said Pierron's comments were "very far removed" from its values. Pierron also apologised and was taken off air until the end of the season of her show.
Doku missed Belgium's 0-0 draw against Iran in the group stage to fly back to the UK for the birth of his son, Praise. A Belgium statement later said the 24-year-old travelled to London to be with his wife "with the approval of and accompanied by one of our team doctors".
Speaking on his YouTube channel, Doku said: "There was a lot of noise of course," and added, "I can understand why people felt like maybe this was orchestrated because it was too perfect." He continued: "I also saw the journalist speak about me and the situation and all the people getting at her. But I just wanted to use this video as well to really... pray over her."
Doku went on: "I don't want to come at her in a way that most people did. I don't want people to be too harsh on her. We don't know what she has experienced. It's her opinion. "She got fired and all these things. I never want this for a person. I'm not against her. I'm not angry at her or anything. She just said her opinion."
Doku played 86 minutes of Belgium's opening 1-1 draw with Egypt in Group G of the World Cup before missing their next game, with his absence explained as illness.
Belgium progressed to the quarter-finals of the World Cup with Doku among the squad.
