FIFA grants accreditation to imprisoned French journalist ahead of World Cup
Christophe Gleizes, serving a seven-year sentence for glorifying terrorism, receives official credentials from world football’s governing body, with President Gianni Infantino reserving an empty seat in his absence.
FIFA has issued World Cup accreditation to Christophe Gleizes, a French journalist currently serving a seven-year prison sentence in Algeria, marking a significant institutional gesture ahead of the tournament’s commencement. The move, confirmed by Reporters Without Borders (RSF), authorises Gleizes to cover the entire competition across the United States, Canada, and Mexico from June 11 to July 19 for the French magazine So Foot.
The accreditation serves as a formal demonstration of support from world football’s governing body, with FIFA President Gianni Infantino reserving an empty seat for Gleizes during a pre-tournament press conference on Wednesday. Infantino described the reporter as “the only sports journalist currently imprisoned in the world” and expressed hope that Gleizes would be pardoned by Algerian President Abdelmadjid Tebboune, potentially allowing him to join the event in person.
Gleizes, a 37-year-old freelance reporter based in Paris, was arrested in May 2024 while travelling to the Kabylie region to report on the football club JSK. He was sentenced in June last year for “glorifying terrorism” following convictions related to contact with members of the Movement for the Self-Determination of Kabylie (MAK), a group designated as a terrorist organisation by Algiers. The sentence was handed down during a period of heightened diplomatic tension between France and Algeria and was upheld on appeal in December.
Legal obstacles to a potential pardon have recently been removed, raising expectations for clemency. In March, Gleizes withdrew an appeal to the Supreme Court, a strategic move intended to facilitate a presidential pardon. This was followed on June 3 by a decision from Algeria’s highest court of appeal to reject prosecutors’ requests for a tougher sentence, thereby clearing the final judicial barrier.
Algeria traditionally issues pardons during major national and religious holidays, including July 5, which commemorates independence from French colonial rule in 1962. Gleizes’ parents, Sylvie and Francis Godard, have expressed gratitude to FIFA while reiterating their appeal for clemency. RSF head Thibaut Bruttin stated that the accreditation reinforces the principle that journalists belong in stadiums rather than prisons, coordinating a support committee for the detained reporter.
