Empty seat at World Cup for jailed French journalist
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- Christophe Gleizes, a French sports journalist for Paris-based So Foot magazine who specializes in African football, was sentenced in 2025 to seven years in prison in Algeria for supporting terrorism.
- French journalists' unions have called on Algeria to release Gleizes, and an empty seat is being kept in the press box at every France World Cup game — plus an empty chair at each France news conference — to keep his case in the spotlight.
- Gleizes' mother Sylvie traveled to the World Cup and told BBC Sport that his tournament accreditation was personally approved by FIFA president Gianni Infantino, adding that her son feels "cut off" from the world.
- L'Equipe journalist Vincent Duluc asked France manager Didier Deschamps a question on Gleizes' behalf about hydration breaks at Monday's news conference at New Jersey New York Stadium; Deschamps replied he hopes Gleizes can return and ask his own questions "as soon as possible."
- Journalists held up "Free Gleizes" scarves before Deschamps' Monday news conference previewing Tuesday's France vs. Senegal match (20:00 BST), turning the pre-match media routine into a public pressure moment.
Why it matters: With FIFA president Infantino personally approving Gleizes' World Cup accreditation while Algeria continues to hold him, the case sits at the intersection of press freedom and international sport — and the coordinated empty-seat protest at every France fixture turns the tournament itself into an ongoing, visible campaign for his release.
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