Elite sportspeople do enough media training to know that certain pronouncements will take on a life of their own after they are uttered. This did not, in the first instance, feel like one of those occasions.Jeremy Doku, the Belgium and Manchester City winger, was speaking to the media before his country’s World Cup opener against Egypt. He was asked about his form, about the art of beating a man, about his hopes for the weeks ahead. Then, almost as an afterthought, the subject of his pregnant partner came up.“The baby could arrive before the end of the tournament,” said Doku. He explained that one of his team-mates, Brandon Mechele, is in a similar situation. Then he stated his desire to be present at the birth of his first child.“I would like to be there,” he said. “No father would want to miss that. I know that the federation is aware and we will see what we can do.”This did not seem controversial. It did not make the headline of the write-up on the website of Belgian newspaper Derniere Heure, which led on Doku’s assessment of his own dribbling ability. And yet, over the days that followed, those three sentences sparked a backlash against the 24-year-old.Doku dribbles towards a defender in the Egypt game (Ercin Erturk/Anadolu via Getty Images)On Sunday, during World Cup television coverage, former Belgium international Gert Verheyen jokingly suggested that Doku would be a spare wheel at his child’s birth. “The only thing you can say is, ‘You’re doing great, keep going,'” said Verheyen.On Monday, one of Doku’s old youth coaches criticised him for his position. “When you go to the World Cup, it’s a choice,” Peter Janssens told Belgian website VRT. “It might sound a bit harsh, but if you’re there, it’s because you have chosen to play. The baby will still be there afterwards.”The debate made the front page of newspaper De Morgen on Wednesday. “Generations clash over Doku’s dilemma,” ran the headline. Then, on Friday, the thing went global when France Pierron, a presenter on French television channel L’Equipe, weighed in.“This outrages me,” Pierron said. “When you are lucky enough to 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 walk away from that to be at the birth of your child?“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.”At which point we should probably stop rolling around in this slop and say a formal hello. Yes, welcome to 2026 — like the Dark Ages, only with better teeth.