Leave the World Cup to be at the birth of your child? Oh baby, what a ‘useless’ dad

June 23, 2026 — 11:45am

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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........

© The Age