Belgium’s Jeremy Doku under fire at World Cup over unexpected controversy

The phrase “touch grass” generally makes me cringe, but it was popularized because of instances like this.

For those living under a rock, the 2026 FIFA men’s World Cup is currently underway across Canada, Mexico, and the United States. Belgium is making its fourth consecutive appearance in the tournament, and it could go any which way for the Red Devils. In 2018, they secured an all-time best third-place finish, but in 2022, they failed to advance out of the group stage.

Should Belgium reach the quarterfinal, winger Jeremy Doku may not be available.

The Manchester City star previously disclosed to reporters that his wife, Shireen, is due to give birth to their first child in the second week of July.

“It ​depends on when it happens, but it’s my first child, so I ‌would ⁠definitely want to be there,” Doku said, per Reuters. “If you ask me what I want, my answer is that nobody wants to miss the birth of their first child. But I also ​know that football ​involves many ⁠other considerations. I know the federation supports its players and understands their situations. We’ll see what we ​can do.”

Somehow, some way, Doku came under fire for his entirely humane, logical stance.

The most prominent critic has been L’Equipe channel presenter France Pierron. Translating to English, The Athletic’s Colin Millar relayed that Pierron said, in part, “You are not going to cut an umbilical cord; you can’t miss a World Cup.”

The public backlash resulted in Pierron eventually released a statement on social media, in which she explained that she “was expressing a personal opinion” and apologized if her comments “shocked, hurt, or wounded some of you.”

“My intention has never been to minimize the place or role of fathers with their partner and their child,” she wrote.

Doku and the Red Devils have their work cut out for them if they want to still be competing for the Cup come mid-July.

Luckily for Belgium, Group G contains four teams that all drew in their first matches. Belgium came away with a 1-1 draw against Egypt. Iran and New Zealand walked away with a 2-2 draw. As such, per ESPN, no Group G team can qualify for the knockout nor be eliminated in the second match week.

Belgium will next face Iran at SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, California, on Sunday at 3 p.m. ET.

However, Doku, who started against Egypt, will not play due to a reported “respiratory problem” that has lingered for “at least two weeks,” per the Associated Press.