The seventieth Ballon d'Or awards ceremony was held in London on Monday 26 October. Before the names of the best male and female players of the year were announced, presenter Kate Scott and former France star Thierry Henry offered support for detained French sports journalist Christophe Gleizes.
Support at the ceremony
Reporters Without Borders' official website said the symbolic moment turned one of football's most-watched events into a platform to demand Gleizes' release and defend press freedom.
Gleizes' work in journalism
Christophe Gleizes is an independent French sports journalist who has worked with the magazine So Foot and the media group So Press, which also includes the magazine Society. His work focuses on sports journalism, covering clubs and football in France and abroad.
Timeline of the case
Gleizes travelled to Algeria in May 2024 to prepare a report on JS Kabylie in Tizi Ouzou. According to the chronology reported by media outlets and Reporters Without Borders, police arrested him on 28 May during his stay, then placed him under judicial supervision for around a year. A court sentenced him to seven years in prison on 29 June 2025, then upheld the verdict on appeal in December of the same year.
Published reports link the case to interviews conducted with figures tied to the self-determination movement for the Kabylie region, which Algerian authorities have classified as a terrorist organisation since 2021.
Calls for release and later developments
Reporters Without Borders argued the case stemmed from Gleizes's professional work and called for his release. GOAL said prominent sporting figures who joined calls for Gleizes's release included FIFA president Gianni Infantino and France coach Zinedine Zidane.
GOAL said FIFA handed Gleizes symbolic accreditation to cover the 2026 World Cup. French media including Le Monde, citing Gleizes's family and his lawyer, said that in May 2026 he withdrew his appeal before the Court of Cassation in a bid to open the way to a possible presidential pardon. His lawyers later said the course of the proceedings had tied the future of his case to the powers of the Algerian president. His family confirmed in a media interview on 15 October that he remained detained in Algeria.