French broadcaster French Pierron was under fire for calling childbirth ‘a disgusting moment.‘

Sportscaster addresses backlash after saying World Cup player shouldn’t miss game for the birth of his first child

French broadcaster French Pierron was under fire for calling childbirth 'a disgusting moment.'

By Emlyn Travis

Emlyn Travis

Emlyn Travis is a news writer at **. She has been working at EW since 2022. Her work has previously appeared on MTV News, Teen Vogue, and NME.

EW's editorial guidelines

on June 22, 2026 4:27 p.m. ET

France Pierron and Jérémy Doku. Credit:

- A French broadcaster is apologizing after she called childbirth "a disgusting moment" and said that a Belgian footballer shouldn't leave the World Cup to attend the birth of his first baby.

- Jérémy Doku had previously expressed his desire to leave the tournament next month because his wife, Shireen, is due to give birth.

- “It was never my intention to downplay the place or role of fathers in relation to their partners and children," Pierron wrote.

A French broadcaster is apologizing after she blasted a Belgian footballer’s decision to potentially exit the World Cup early in order to attend the birth of his first child.

France Pierron, presenter of the French sport program *L’Équipe de choc*, criticized Jérémy Doku's comments and described childbirth as “a disgusting moment” during a recent on-air appearance, *The Athletic* reports.

"You have to realize that it’s truly a privilege to participate in a World Cup, it’s an incredible joy,” she said. “There are hundreds of footballers who would kill to be in your shoes. It might never happen again in your life.”

Jane Gershovich/Getty

Pierron continued, “It’s truly a special moment, a childhood dream come true. 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."

Just last week, 24-year-old Doku told Reuters that he wants to leave the World Cup next month in order to be with his wife, Shireen, who is due in the second week of July. If Belgium is still participating in the tournament at the time, his exit will coincide with the competition's quarter-finals.

Will Ferrell says it's 'awful' being a World Cup ambassador: 'Tons of paperwork'

Brooklyn Beckham references family feud in DoorDash World Cup ad

“It ​depends on when it happens, but it's my first child, so I ‌would ⁠definitely want to be there,” Doku told the outlet. “If you ask me what I want, my answer is that nobody wants to miss the birth of their first child.”

After receiving significant backlash online, Pierron clarified that her comments were a “personal opinion” in a series of X posts published on Saturday.

“I was expressing a personal opinion as part of a debate. These remarks are mine alone and do not in any way reflect a collective position,” she wrote in part. “I understand that they may have shocked, upset, or hurt some of you, and I am sorry.”

Pierron added, “It was never my intention to downplay the place or role of fathers in relation to their partners and children.”

***Get your daily dose of entertainment news, celebrity updates, and what to watch with our ******EW Dispatch newsletter******.***

L’Équipe also addressed Pierron’s comment in their own statement, noting that it “disassociates itself” from her remarks, which were “very far removed from the group’s values,” according to The Athletic.

Doku did not participate in Belgium’s match against Iran over the weekend due to respiratory illness. It is currently unclear if he will return to the pitch when Belgium goes up against New Zealand on Friday, June 26.

- Entertainment Lifestyle

- Sports Events

Original Article on Source

Source: “EW Sports”