FIFA reserves symbolic press seat for Christophe Gleizes at France v Senegal in East Rutherford | OneFootball

FIFA has reserved a symbolic press seat for Christophe Gleizes at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford for France’s World Cup opener against Senegal on Tuesday at 21:00.

According to Le Parisien, the seat is 199, marked with a red scarf bearing his name, plus a notebook, a pen and a France-Senegal scarf.

The 37-year-old French sports journalist has been held in Algeria for a year and has been symbolically accredited to cover the tournament.

He was arrested on 28 May 2024 in Tizi Ouzou while reporting on JS Kabylie. On 29 June 2025 he was sentenced to seven years in prison for charges including glorifying terrorism and possessing publications intended as propaganda harmful to the national interest.

The court of appeal in Tizi Ouzou upheld the sentence on 3 December 2025. After withdrawing his cassation appeal in March, his family hopes for a presidential pardon from Algerian leader Abdelmadjid Tebboune. Requests were lodged in December 2025 and in February, with no response so far.

Source: L'Équipe