Christophe Gleizes, the French journalist detained in Algeria, “should be in our place” at the 2026 World Cup, said his parents, present in New York on the eve of France’s entry into the 2026 World Cup.
“We are here because Christophe obtained FIFA accreditation, we are very moved and very touched. Christophe should be in our place and it is our duty to be there to support him,” declared his mother Sylvie Godard during a press briefing organized with the French media, before the match between the French team and Senegal on Tuesday in New York.
“The situation has been the same for almost a year. Imprisoned between four walls, he is starting to find his time long and he would like to be among you, sports journalists. This is where he should be, in his place,” insisted his father-in-law Francis Godard, denouncing “total opacity for the moment.”
“We have no feedback, we send various messages but we have no feedback,” they regretted.
“He knows mobilization, but he tells us that it is a world that has become totally abstract to him now, because for almost a year, he has no longer had any connection with the outside world,” his parents lamented. According to them, the journalist “lost his temporal bearings” because “he doesn’t see anything coming”. “I think he was a little down,” his mother admitted.
“We don’t blame them”
Asked again about the possible role of French football stars in his release, Francis Godard did not wish to return to it: “on this point, we would like to move on since we have addressed them on multiple occasions. Now Mbappé has the World Cup. I don’t think we’re going to harass him about it. Ditto for Zinédine Zidane. So we move on. We don’t blame them.”
Christophe Gleizes was arrested in May 2024 in Algeria as part of a report on the Jeunesse sportif de Kabylie (JSK) football club. First placed under judicial supervision, he was incarcerated in June 2025, after his conviction for “apology of terrorism” to seven years in prison.
He withdrew an appeal in March, hoping to pave the way for a presidential pardon.
On Wednesday, Fifa President Gianni Infantino, who accredited the journalist for the World Cup, said he hoped that the 37-year-old Frenchman would obtain this pardon and be able to attend the World Cup.
