Source : the age
Well, hallelujah, it’s about time someone said it: sport is everything. The meaning of life. The song in humanity’s soul. Our north, our south, our east and our west/our working week and our Sunday rest. The wind beneath our collective wings, if you will.
OK, fine, I’ll stop. But please, before I do, allow me to extend my heartfelt thanks to French TV presenter France Pierron, who last Friday delivered a sobering reality check to ardent soccer fans everywhere. Confronted with the news that Manchester City and Belgian winger Jeremy Doku was planning to blow off the FIFA World Cup so that he could attend the birth of his first child next month, Madame Pierron urged everyone to keep the situation in perspective. After all, while the birth of a healthy baby is a life-changing experience for the two people responsible for its conception, the World Cup only comes around once every four years. And that’s not very often! Sacré bleu!
As such, any player wishing to bugger off home and support his wife through her labour is an ingrate and a deserter who should have his jaw prised open, foie gras duck-style, and be force-fed a diet of soccer highlights until he weepingly recognises the error of his ways. #priorities
Mon dieu. Let’s back up a bit. Someone hit replay. Right, so here we are on the set of French TV channel L’Equipe, where Pierron is grappling valiantly with the idea that Doku has flagged his intention to fly out of the US to be with his wife Shireen when she goes into labour.
“This outrages me,” Pierron announces. “When you are lucky enough to even appear at a World Cup, there are hundreds of footballers who would kill to be in your place. It’s a unique moment, a childhood dream come true. And you’re going to leave all that to be at the birth of your child, which is a disgusting moment, excuse my language, where the father is useless.”
You tell him, sister. Testify. A mother of two boys herself, Pierron has personally seen action on the maternity ward frontline. As such, she knows her players: “I’m sorry, the father serves no purpose. He is an extra. He just holds your hand and takes a photo. You’re going to take a 10-hour flight, exhaust yourself, go through the wringer emotionally … how can you return to play after that? The baby will always be there.”
Now, before any would-be doulas go getting their swaddles in a twist, it should be noted that one of Doku’s previous coaches, Peter Janssens, was similarly critical of his former client: “It might sound a bit harsh, but if you’re at [the World Cup], it’s because you’ve chosen to play. The baby will still be there afterwards”.
He sounds like a ripping bloke. And it’s not as though Doku doesn’t have any option other than to leave. Why, just last Friday, Norway’s Leo Ostigard “provided long-distance support” to his partner, Aurora Eidmann, as she gave birth to their first child, a boy, via video link. The miracle of life facilitated by the miracle of FaceTime. Exquisite.
And as a bonus, Ostigard later recalled, the family’s first few sacred minutes as a party of three were swiftly interrupted by a knock on his hotel door. “Four lads came jumping into the room,” he recalled. “It was probably Sander [Berge], Erling [Haaland] and Jorgen [Strand Larsen].”
Beautiful! Because nothing screams “enjoy these precious moments” like a bonding sesh between the newly minted Daddy-o, a couple of strikers and a strapping midfielder.
But lest anyone get carried away with all the bros and their bonhomie, it should be noted that France Pierron’s remarks were met with swift condemnation on social media and criticism from her colleagues. As such, she eventually addressed the controversy on her personal X account over the weekend, issuing one of those ghastly, grovelling statements that reads like the demon child of a confession extracted at gunpoint and a legal disclaimer.
“I was expressing a personal opinion within the context of a debate. These remarks are solely my own and in no way reflect a collective position,” Pierron wrote. “I understand that they may have shocked, offended or hurt some of you and I am sorry. My intention was never to minimise the place or role of fathers with their partners and children.”
It was the off-field equivalent of that moment during a sudden-death semi where a hapless goalie, staring down the prospect of extra time, is caught wildly out of position and smashes into his own post, losing consciousness mere seconds after registering the casual swish of the football hitting the net.
Sadly, for Pierron, her remarks resulted in a similar blackout. By last night she had been suspended by L’Equipe, with no word on when she might return to the commentary role. No matter. As they say in the trade, she gave it 110 per cent until she took her eye off the ball. Not to pull any punches, but she just didn’t execute, and it’s come back to haunt her. The best is a good offence. And as always, sport was the winner on the day.
Michelle Cazzulino is a freelance writer.
