Christophe Gleizes family lament lack of support from French football stars | OneFootball

The family of journalist Christophe Gleizes, jailed in Algeria, have lamented a lack of public backing from leading French footballers as the World Cup begins, speaking on France 5’s C dans l’air on Saturday.

According to L'Équipe, they contacted Kylian Mbappé, Karim Benzema and Zinédine Zidane seeking official support, but believe the stars have not engaged. They stressed they still support the team and had hoped for a small gesture, while noting strong mobilisation from the FFF, the LFP and French clubs.

Gleizes has been symbolically accredited by FIFA for the World Cup. He is expected to be allowed to ask a question from his cell at the press conference before France v Senegal on 15 June.

He was arrested in May 2024 in Algeria while reporting on Jeunesse sportive de Kabylie. Initially under judicial control, he was jailed in June 2025 after conviction for “apologie du terrorisme” and given a seven-year sentence.

In March he withdrew a cassation appeal in the hope of opening a path to a presidential pardon. On Wednesday, FIFA president Gianni Infantino expressed hope that the 37-year-old can receive such a pardon and attend the World Cup.

Source: L'Équipe