RENTON, Wash. (AP) — The Belgian soccer federation congratulated Jérémy Doku on the birth of his son, Praise, on Monday, one day after a French media organization's apology following a commentator criticizing the player's intention to leave the World Cup to welcome his first child.
Doku missed the Belgium's 0-0 draw against Iran on Sunday because of a respiratory illness, but was cleared to fly back to London so he could be with his wife.
“As he had already been receiving the appropriate medical treatment for several days, he was able to fly without any medical risk in order to be with his family during this very special moment,” Belgium team doctor Brahim Hacene said in a statement. “He was accompanied by my colleague, Dr. Brecht De Coninck. Everything went perfectly, and the mother, father, and baby are all doing wonderfully. Jérémy will rejoin the group tomorrow evening in Seattle.”
French sports daily L’Equipe disavowed remarks by a female commentator who criticized Doku for wanting to leave the World Cup for the birth.
L’Equipe apologized to Doku in a statement late Sunday and said the comments by France Pierron did not represent its values.
Pierron described childbirth as “a disgusting moment, excuse me, where the dad is useless” during an appearance on the television show “L’Equipe de Choc” on Friday.
Belgium captain Youri Tielemans said he and other players congratulated Doku and his wife via text. Doku was not present for the portion of Monday's practice at the training facility of Major League Soccer’s Seattle Sounders that was open to the media.
“I think having a child is the most beautiful thing in the world that you can have, and being there, it's more than normal as a dad, as a mom, obviously,” Tielemans said. “But yeah, being there as a dad, for myself, I have three and it's memories you can't take back. So, yeah, very happy for him.”
AP World Cup: https://apnews.com/fifa-world-cup
Copyright 2026 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission.
Please purchase a Premium Subscription to continue reading.
To continue, please log in, or sign up for a new account.
We offer one free story view per month. If you register for an account, you will get two additional story views. After those three total views, we ask that you support us with a subscription.
A subscription to our digital content is so much more than just access to our valuable content. It means you’re helping to support a local community institution that has, from its very start, supported the betterment of our society. Thank you very much!
Only subscribers can view and post comments on articles.
Already a subscriber? Login Here
Learn how to make some of Jettywave Distillery’s most popular drinks as well as some classics. Read moreMixology 101: Cocktail Crafting
These days, life can feel like it has been turned upside-down. What was relied upon as norma… Read moreInspirational Talk - “A Spiritual Revolution: The Quest to Experience God”
Dirk van Ulden said:
CA Is Burning said:
Success! An email has been sent to with a link to confirm list signup.
Error! There was an error processing your request.
Sorry, an error occurred.
Already Subscribed!
Cancel anytime
Thank you .
Your account has been registered, and you are now logged in.
Check your email for details.
Submitting this form below will send a message to your email with a link to change your password.
An email message containing instructions on how to reset your password has been sent to the email address listed on your account.
No promotional rates found.
Secure & Encrypted
Thank you.
Your gift purchase was successful! Your purchase was successful, and you are now logged in.
| Rate: | |
| Begins: | |
| Transaction ID: |
A receipt was sent to your email.
(0) comments
Welcome to the discussion.
Log In
Keep the discussion civilized. Absolutely NO personal attacks or insults directed toward writers, nor others who make comments.
Keep it clean. Please avoid obscene, vulgar, lewd, racist or sexually-oriented language.
Don't threaten. Threats of harming another person will not be tolerated.
Be truthful. Don't knowingly lie about anyone or anything.
Be proactive. Use the 'Report' link on each comment to let us know of abusive posts.
PLEASE TURN OFF YOUR CAPS LOCK.
Anyone violating these rules will be issued a warning. After the warning, comment privileges can be revoked.