The encounter Jeremy Doku cannot miss

A day after Father's Day, it feels fitting to cut through the noise and look at what fatherhood means.

As a dad to a seven-year-old daughter, let me clear the air right out of the gate: if I were given a time machine to relive just one day of my life, it wouldn’t be a high-stakes football match or a professional milestone. It would be the day she arrived in this world.

That is precisely why Jeremy Doku's stance during this World Cup hit home for me.

The 24-year-old Belgium winger made it clear that if his country goes deep into the tournament, he might temporarily pack his bags to be there for the birth of his first child.

Standard stuff, one would think, but it somehow drew the ire of French television presenter France Pierron, who branded the choice "disgraceful," before doubling down to claim a father is essentially "useless" during childbirth.

The backlash was swift, and Pierron has since been reportedly handed a suspension by broadcaster L'Equipe, even though she apologised on Saturday saying her comments "may have" hurt "some of you" but that was not the "intention".

Honestly, the real shocker is the fact that we are well into 2026 and this prehistoric mindset is still doing the rounds during a global event.

Fatherhood does not suddenly kick off in the delivery room. It begins the exact moment you find out you're going to be a parent.

As if shifted to a whole new timeline in a parallel universe, then begins a long, demanding journey of hospital runs, anxious nights, difficult conversations, and raw anticipation.

This is where critics like Pierron completely miss the mark on a biochemical and emotional level. Childbirth can often be a terrifying psychological threshold for a mother, and a father's presence near and at the finish line is essentially about being her primary emotional anchor.

Keeping the mother stable, reassured, and grounded when the physical toll peaks is a job that cannot be outsourced; and to suggest a man is “useless” there is to misunderstand the very foundation of partnership.

A father might not carry the child physically, but anyone who has been in those shoes knows he carries the heavy emotional and practical load throughout the entire cycle. In a way, the months leading up to delivery are foundational to parenthood itself.

Former French Olympic boxing champion Brahim Asloum hit the nail on the head when he defended Doku -- who missed his side’s fixture against Iran on Monday -- writing: "A baby is your entire life. A World Cup is over when it is over."

It’s basic math. A World Cup rolls around every four years. The arrival of a firstborn happens exactly once -- it cannot be rescheduled, replayed, or recovered.

This whole unwanted circus highlights a much bigger institutional blind spot. On one hand, modern society constantly beats the drum for fathers to be more hands-on, to step up and split the household responsibilities. Yet, the moment a dad tries to do exactly that, the surrounding structures and old-school mindsets pull the rug from under him.

We push for involved fathers, but conversations around pregnancy and childbirth still relegate men to the margins. Maternity leave is universally recognized as non-negotiable -- as it absolutely should be -- but meaningful paternity leave is still treated like a luxury in too many places.

The corporate and sporting worlds give lip service to family values, but occasionally balk when an employee actually prioritises them at the ultimate moment.

That is why Doku drawing a line in the sand matters far beyond the football pitch.

England forward Ollie Watkins, who is a father of two, said he would have no hesitation in making the same call were he in Doku’s situation. 

“I would want to do it. I don’t see the problem with it,” Watkins, who is yet to get playing time this World Cup, said on Sunday. “I can understand where he’s coming from. He has every right to go back and be there.”

Whether Belgium make the quarterfinals or crash out is, in the grand scheme of things, just a fleeting sporting detail. One day, Doku’s boots will be hung up. The blistering pace will fade, and the goals, trophies, and stats will just be archival text. But the memory of being there for his child's first breath will remain locked in forever.