French broadcaster honours AFP reporter killed in Ukraine

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A video in tribute to slain AFP video journalist Arman Soldin is displayed on screens during a minute's silence held for him, at AFP headquarters in central Paris, on May 11, 2023. Arman was killed by a rocket strike as he reported with AFP colleagues from Ukrainian positions in Chasiv Yar on May 9, 2023. Arman, who was 32 and born in Bosnia, began his career as an AFP intern in the Rome bureau before moving to London in 2015. He was formally appointed as Ukraine video. (Photo by Martin BUREAU / POOL / AFP)

PARIS, France - French broadcaster Canal Plus paid tribute to AFP journalist Arman Soldin on Saturday, after he was killed this week in Ukraine.

Soldin, AFP's video coordinator in Ukraine, died on Tuesday when an AFP team came under fire from Grad rockets while they were with a group of Ukrainian soldiers near Bakhmut, the epicentre of the fighting for months.

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The 32-year-old had worked for four years for Canal Plus television on its 'Match of ze Day' programme covering English Premier League football.

During Saturday's broadcast of 'Match of ze Day', a four-minute package was played of the 32-year-old's varying contributions to the output.

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Former Liverpool striker and now pundit Florent Sinama-Pongolle remembered "magical moments with him" and said he "lived in the moment".

Soldin was nicknamed "The Nutmeg Machine" by Canal Plus colleagues in reference to the footballing skill of playing the ball between an opponent's legs and was part of French club Rennes' youth academy until the age of 16.

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French anti-terror prosecutors said on Wednesday they were launching a war crime investigation into the death of Soldin, a French citizen born in Bosnia. - AFP