Gianni Infantino hopes for presidential pardon for Christophe Gleizes | OneFootball

According to L'ÉEquipe, FIFA president Gianni Infantino voiced support for the release of French journalist Christophe Gleizes, who is detained in Algeria, expressing hope for a presidential pardon.

Speaking at a press conference in Mexico on Wednesday, the eve of the World Cup opener between Mexico and South Africa at 21:00, he raised Gleizes’s case.

Infantino said an empty seat had been set aside for Gleizes, whom he described as the only sports journalist jailed worldwide, and added he hoped a humanitarian gesture could allow him to attend the tournament.

Gleizes was arrested on 28 May 2024 in Tizi Ouzou while reporting on JS Kabylie. Initially placed under judicial supervision, he was sentenced on 29 June 2025 to seven years in prison with an immediate committal order for advocacy of terrorism and possession of publications for propaganda harmful to the national interest.

His sentence was upheld on 3 December 2025 by the Tizi Ouzou court of appeal.

Source: L'Équipe