FIFA accredits detained French journalist for World Cup

FIFA has granted a World Cup accreditation to French sports journalist Christophe Gleizes, who has been held in Algeria for the past year. The move, coordinated by Reporters Without Borders (RSF), is seen as welcome support for Gleizes ahead of the tournament.

"This accreditation is a reminder that the rightful place for this sports journalist and football expert is not in prison, but in the stadiums and behind the scenes of this great global competition," said RSF head Thibaut Bruttin. Gleizes, 37, was arrested in May 2024 while traveling to the Kabylie region to report on the country's most successful football club, JSK.

He was sentenced in June 2024 to seven years in prison for allegedly glorifying terrorism. The conviction stemmed from his contact with members of the Movement for the Autonomy of Kabylie (MAK), a group Algeria designates as a terrorist organization. His parents, Sylvie and Francis Godard, expressed gratitude to FIFA and appealed for clemency from Algerian President Abdelmadjid Tebboune.

“

This accreditation is a reminder that the rightful place for this sports journalist and football expert is not in prison, but in the stadiums and behind the scenes of this great global competition.

The accreditation permits Gleizes to cover the World Cup in the United States, Canada, and Mexico from June 11 to July 19 for So Foot magazine. His prison sentence, handed down during a diplomatic crisis between France and Algeria, was upheld on appeal in December. Gleizes withdrew an appeal to the Supreme Court in March, hoping to pave the way for a presidential pardon. The path for a potential pardon was further cleared on June 3 when his lawyers announced the Supreme Court had rejected the prosecution's appeal for a harsher sentence, removing the final obstacle.

Algeria traditionally grants pardons on major religious and national holidays, including July 5, the anniversary of the country's independence from French colonial rule in 1962. Gleizes may be able to travel to his assignment on that date.

“

This agonizing situation has destroyed us.