Thierry Henry has rejected claims that he deliberately embarrassed Lamine Yamal or disrespected Kate Scott during Monday’s Ballon d’Or ceremony.
Henry addressed the criticism in a video published after the event, explaining two moments that attracted attention while he co-hosted the ceremony with Scott.
The first came when Yamal went on stage to collect the Kopa Trophy for a third successive year. Henry asked the Barcelona forward whether it was the award he really wanted, pointing out that the player was aiming for the bigger prize, the Ballon d’Or.
Some viewers said the question was inappropriate and accused Henry of embarrassing or bullying the young player. Others regarded it as a light-hearted joke.
Henry said he had raised the point because it was Yamal’s third Kopa Trophy, while he had yet to win the main award.
He acknowledged that not everyone would have enjoyed the remark, but stressed his admiration for Yamal and said he regularly enjoyed watching him play. Henry added that the Barcelona player was among those he would pay to watch.
The second controversy followed an exchange between Henry and Scott while they were presenting the Socrates Award, which is named after the late Brazil football star.
Henry joked with Scott about her pronunciation of the former Brazilian international’s name, referring to the connection with the Greek philosopher and correcting the way she said it.
Some viewers considered Henry’s response rude. Andrew Downie, who wrote a book about Socrates, said Scott had pronounced the name correctly and described Henry’s behaviour as “cheeky”.
In his video, Henry said Scott knew about the joke and had deliberately pretended to go along with it. He accepted that some people might not find the exchange funny, but asked viewers to stop describing him as disrespectful.
“I would never do that,” Henry said, insisting he would not intentionally offend either Scott or Yamal.
The former France and Arsenal forward now works as a football analyst for CBS Sports, where he regularly covers the Champions League alongside Scott, Jamie Carragher and Micah Richards.
The incidents were discussed in coverage dated 31 October 2026, alongside references to Barcelona, La Liga and Deportivo Alaves.
