Death of Arman Soldin: the moving tribute of his colleagues at Canal +

Reporter for AFP, but also sports journalist for Canal+ and in particular for Match or them Day, Arman Soldin was killed in Ukraine on May 9. His colleagues from the encrypted channel wanted to pay him a vibrant tribute.

Journalist for AFP, Arman Soldin was killed on May 9, 2023 in a rocket strike in Bakhmout, Ukraine. The 32-year-old journalist has long covered the Premier League, the English football championship, on the show Match or them Day of Channel+. A few days after the announcement of his death, his colleagues on the encrypted channel wanted to pay tribute to him. A video of his various performances in the football show was published on the Canal+ Twitter account after it was aired. A clip that ends with a strong image of Arman Soldin, since it is a black and white photo accompanied by the song Forever Young.

Arman Soldin: a man “full of energy, full of enthusiasm and full of ideas”

Just before broadcasting this video on Canal+, presenter Joris Sabi spoke by declaring: “We wanted to pay tribute to Arman Soldin (…) who is part of the Match of ze Day teamand over the four years we have been together, he had even become a member of our family.” For his part, the consultant Florent Sinama-Pongolle recalled the “magical moments” where they laughed together spent with Arman “before taking the antenna”. “He made the present moment live by being there, and that’s what he also did by leaving his life there”, he added afterwards. Journalist Tom Williams said they would miss him very much and that he was a person who always smiled and laughed, specifying that he was “full of energy, full of enthusiasm and full of ideas”.

A shower of tributes for Arman Soldin

Nicknamed “small bridge machine” by his colleagues, the journalist was very good on a football pitch. He was also at the Rennes training center until the age of 16. Stade Rennes did not fail to pay tribute to him in turn on Twitter, where we can read: “It is with great sadness that Stade Rennes FC learned of the disappearance of Arman Soldin who lost his life in Ukraine., exercising his profession as a journalist and image reporter. Passionate about Red and Black, he had worn our colors from 2006 to 2008 in U13 and U15. The entire club sends its sincere condolences to Arman’s family and loved ones.” For its part, AFP said: “Arman’s brilliant work summed up everything that makes us proud of AFP journalism in Ukraine.”

Article written with the collaboration of 6Medias.