Henry denies disrespecting Yamal and co-host Scott at Ballon d'Or
- Thierry Henry has defended a joke he made to Lamine Yamal about the Kopa Trophy at the Ballon d'Or ceremony.
- Some fans said the question embarrassed Yamal; Henry says he was not mocking the teenager's ego.
- He also denied disrespecting co-host Kate Scott over a joke about the name Socrates.
Thierry Henry has responded to criticism over two moments from Monday's Ballon d'Or ceremony in London, saying he never meant to disrespect Barcelona forward Lamine Yamal or his co-host Kate Scott.
Henry, the former Arsenal and France striker, co-hosted the event with Scott. In a video posted on his Instagram page on Tuesday, he addressed the backlash that followed the ceremony.
The Kopa Trophy question
Yamal won the Kopa Trophy, given to the best young player in world football, for the third year running. He did not win the main Ballon d'Or, which went to England captain Harry Kane.
When Henry spoke to Yamal on stage, he asked whether the Kopa Trophy was the prize the teenager really wanted. Some viewers took the question as a dig at Yamal for missing out on the top award, while others saw it as harmless banter.
Henry said his words were misunderstood. "I'm a big fan of Lamine Yamal. I wasn't trying to check his ego whatsoever," he said, adding that he asked because he knew the main prize was still to be announced.
He said he would have liked to see Yamal win the Ballon d'Or, calling the 18-year-old "one of those players I would pay to watch."
The Socrates joke
The second row came during the Socrates Award, named after the late Brazilian legend. A joke about how the name was pronounced led some viewers to accuse Henry of mocking Scott.
Henry rejected that, saying Scott knew about the joke in advance and played along on purpose. "Please stop saying I disrespected Kate. I will never do that," he said.
He also spoke about Kane's win, saying he had congratulated the striker and told him he deserved it. Henry said he has called Kane "Sir Harry Kane" since the World Cup as a mark of respect.
Henry accepted that not everyone found the jokes funny. "That you didn't like the joke, I can understand," he said, but he asked fans not to read bad intentions into his remarks.
The debate has kept attention on how presenters handle players at big award shows. For Nigerian fans who follow the Premier League and La Liga closely, Henry remains a familiar face from his Arsenal days, and Yamal one of the game's biggest young stars.
