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.
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.
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.
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