Ballon d'Or ceremony raises case of French sports journalist jailed in Algeria

Ballon d'Or ceremony highlights case of French sports journalist jailed in Algeria

Christophe Gleizes, 37, is a French journalist who covers African football for the Paris-based So Foot magazine.

The situation of French sports journalist Christophe Gleizes, who is serving a seven-year prison term in Algeria, was brought into focus at the Ballon d'Or ceremony.

Organised by France Football magazine, the prestigious football awards took place in London, where presenters Kate Scott and Thierry Henry devoted the event to the 37-year-old reporter.

A large screen behind them said he had spent one year, three months and 27 days in prison, and his photo appeared with the hashtag "#FreeGleize".

He was detained during a trip to Algeria, where he had gone to report on a football club in Kabylie, a region where some people seek self-determination. Authorities accused him of backing terrorism.

"The Ballon d'Or France Football family would like to take this opportunity to dedicate this ceremony to Christophe Gleizes," said British broadcaster Scott and former Arsenal player and French striker Henry as the ceremony began on Monday evening.

Gleizes, who writes for French magazines So Foot and Society, went to Algeria in May 2024 to cover Jeunesse Sportive de Kabylie (JSK), one of the country's most famous football clubs.

The club is based in Tizi Ouzou, around 100km (62 miles) east of the capital Algiers, in the mountainous Kabylie area, which is largely inhabited by the ethnic Amazigh people, historically known as Berbers.

It is also the headquarters of the Movement for the Self-Determination of Kabylie (MAK), which Algeria classified as a terrorist organisation in 2021.

Gleizes was charged with holding publications considered damaging to national security.

The case focused on his contacts with a JSK official who was also linked to the MAK.

Reporters Without Borders (RSF), which has campaigned for his release, says the exchanges happened in a journalistic setting and that some of the contacts took place before the group was banned.

At his appeal hearing last December, Gleizes admitted errors in his reporting and said he should have applied for a journalist visa instead of entering Algeria on a tourist visa.

"I beg your mercy so that I can be reunited with my family," he told the court.

Prosecutors said he had not gone to Algeria to do journalistic work, but to carry out a hostile act.

The Algerian authorities have not yet commented on the Ballon d'Or decision, made by France Football magazine in partnership with European football governing body Uefa, to dedicate the ceremony to Gleizes.

RSF has announced a solidarity football match for 11 November, marking Gleizes's 500th day in detention, as part of its campaign for his release.

Former France internationals Robert Pirès and Vikash Dhorasoo, along with Paris Mayor Emmanuel Grégoire, are among the first participants named.

Gleizes's case comes amid broader concerns about the prosecution and imprisonment of writers and other public figures in Algeria.

Franco-Algerian writer Boualem Sansal was sentenced to five years in prison for undermining national security before being pardoned by President Abdelmadjid Tebboune after mediation by Germany's president in 2025.

Gleizes's arrest also took place during a period of intensified diplomatic tensions between France and Algeria, marked by the withdrawal of ambassadors and mutual expulsions of diplomats.

Relations worsened further after France recognised Moroccan sovereignty over Western Sahara in July 2024. Algeria backs the pro-independence Polisario Front, which wants independence for the disputed territory.

As relations started to improve in May, France's Justice Minister Gérald Darmanin visited Algiers and urged the Algerian authorities to let Gleizes reunite "not with France, but with his mother".

He said he believed President Tebboune would be open to the request.