{"id":12136,"date":"2026-06-11T11:25:57","date_gmt":"2026-06-11T10:25:57","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/tanja7.com\/en\/12136"},"modified":"2026-06-11T11:25:57","modified_gmt":"2026-06-11T10:25:57","slug":"algeria-begins-the-world-cup-with-a-global-scandal","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/tanja7.com\/en\/12136","title":{"rendered":"Algeria Begins the World Cup with a Global Scandal"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>The International Football Federation &#8220;FIFA&#8221; allocated a specific scandal for Algeria at the beginning of the 2026 World Cup, due to its imprisonment of a sports journalist, in an unprecedented case globally.<\/p>\n<p>Thus, FIFA President Gianni Infantino held a press conference in the Mexican capital with a notable symbolic initiative, reserving an empty seat and officially recognizing the 2026 World Cup<strong> for French sports journalist Christophe Gleizes<\/strong>, who is imprisoned in Algeria.<\/p>\n<p>Infantino described Gleizes as \u201cthe only sports journalist imprisoned in the world,\u201d and called on the Algerian president to grant him a humanitarian presidential pardon so he could attend the 2026 World Cup matches.<\/p>\n<p>Infantino stated during the conference: \u201cWe want to see Christophe here with us at the World Cup. We have reserved his seat, and we hope he can occupy it soon.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Gleizes was arrested in May 2024 while covering activities of the JS Kabylie Club in the city of Tizi Ouzou as well as the Kabyle Republic national team, which seeks independence from Algeria. He was sentenced in June 2025 to seven years in prison on charges of \u201cpromoting terrorism,\u201d a ruling upheld by the Court of Appeals despite widespread international protests from press freedom organizations.<\/p>\n<p>Infantino invited the parents of the French journalist to attend the match between France and Senegal in the World Cup, in a step aimed at highlighting his case. This initiative from FIFA is the most prominent so far in support of the imprisoned journalist, amidst increasing demands from human rights and media organizations for his immediate release.<\/p>\n<p><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/news.google.com\/publications\/CAAqJAgKIh5DQklTRUFnTWFnd0tDblJoYm1waE55NWpiMjBvQUFQAQ?ceid=AE:ar&amp;oc=3\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Follow us on Google news<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/tanja7.com\/187709\/\">>Content generated from the Arabic version of Tanja7.com<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The International Football Federation &#8220;FIFA&#8221; allocated a specific scandal for Algeria at the beginning of the 2026 World Cup, due to its imprisonment of a sports journalist, in an unprecedented case globally. Thus, FIFA President Gianni Infantino held a press conference in the Mexican capital with a notable symbolic initiative, reserving an empty seat and [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":12137,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[106],"tags":[],"tmauthors":[],"class_list":["post-12136","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-sport"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.8 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Algeria Begins the World Cup with a Global Scandal - Tanja7 English<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/tanja7.com\/en\/12136\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:title\" content=\"Algeria Begins the World Cup with a Global Scandal - Tanja7 English\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:description\" content=\"The International Football Federation &#8220;FIFA&#8221; allocated a specific scandal for Algeria at the beginning of the 2026 World Cup, due to its imprisonment of a sports journalist, in an unprecedented case globally. Thus, FIFA President Gianni Infantino held a press conference in the Mexican capital with a notable symbolic initiative, reserving an empty seat and [&hellip;]\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Tanja7\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"1 minute\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/tanja7.com\\\/en\\\/12136#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/tanja7.com\\\/en\\\/12136\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Tanja7\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/tanja7.com\\\/en\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/effb4ebf2e0b9c32a577250bf6751e3e\"},\"headline\":\"Algeria Begins the World Cup with a Global Scandal\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-06-11T10:25:57+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/tanja7.com\\\/en\\\/12136\"},\"wordCount\":276,\"commentCount\":0,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/tanja7.com\\\/en\\\/12136#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/tanja7.com\\\/en\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/06\\\/image-2026-06-11T105111.112_Tanja7.webp\",\"articleSection\":[\"Sport\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/tanja7.com\\\/en\\\/12136#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/tanja7.com\\\/en\\\/12136\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/tanja7.com\\\/en\\\/12136\",\"name\":\"Algeria Begins the World Cup with a Global Scandal - Tanja7 English\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/tanja7.com\\\/en\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/tanja7.com\\\/en\\\/12136#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/tanja7.com\\\/en\\\/12136#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/tanja7.com\\\/en\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/06\\\/image-2026-06-11T105111.112_Tanja7.webp\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-06-11T10:25:57+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/tanja7.com\\\/en\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/effb4ebf2e0b9c32a577250bf6751e3e\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/tanja7.com\\\/en\\\/12136#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/tanja7.com\\\/en\\\/12136\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/tanja7.com\\\/en\\\/12136#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/tanja7.com\\\/en\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/06\\\/image-2026-06-11T105111.112_Tanja7.webp\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/tanja7.com\\\/en\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/06\\\/image-2026-06-11T105111.112_Tanja7.webp\",\"width\":1408,\"height\":736},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/tanja7.com\\\/en\\\/12136#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/tanja7.com\\\/en\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Algeria Begins the World Cup with a Global Scandal\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/tanja7.com\\\/en\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/tanja7.com\\\/en\\\/\",\"name\":\"Tanja7 English\",\"description\":\"All the news\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/tanja7.com\\\/en\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/tanja7.com\\\/en\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/effb4ebf2e0b9c32a577250bf6751e3e\",\"name\":\"Tanja7\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/34bc74869a70de3f3f92c455d66f4b6f7201a2b8288d8676782f0324aa6c1d0a?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/34bc74869a70de3f3f92c455d66f4b6f7201a2b8288d8676782f0324aa6c1d0a?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/34bc74869a70de3f3f92c455d66f4b6f7201a2b8288d8676782f0324aa6c1d0a?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Tanja7\"},\"sameAs\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/tanja7.com\\\/en\"],\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/tanja7.com\\\/en\\\/author\\\/admin\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Algeria Begins the World Cup with a Global Scandal - Tanja7 English","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/tanja7.com\/en\/12136","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_title":"Algeria Begins the World Cup with a Global Scandal - Tanja7 English","twitter_description":"The International Football Federation &#8220;FIFA&#8221; allocated a specific scandal for Algeria at the beginning of the 2026 World Cup, due to its imprisonment of a sports journalist, in an unprecedented case globally. Thus, FIFA President Gianni Infantino held a press conference in the Mexican capital with a notable symbolic initiative, reserving an empty seat and [&hellip;]","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Tanja7","Est. reading time":"1 minute"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/tanja7.com\/en\/12136#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/tanja7.com\/en\/12136"},"author":{"name":"Tanja7","@id":"https:\/\/tanja7.com\/en\/#\/schema\/person\/effb4ebf2e0b9c32a577250bf6751e3e"},"headline":"Algeria Begins the World Cup with a Global Scandal","datePublished":"2026-06-11T10:25:57+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/tanja7.com\/en\/12136"},"wordCount":276,"commentCount":0,"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/tanja7.com\/en\/12136#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/tanja7.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/image-2026-06-11T105111.112_Tanja7.webp","articleSection":["Sport"],"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/tanja7.com\/en\/12136#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/tanja7.com\/en\/12136","url":"https:\/\/tanja7.com\/en\/12136","name":"Algeria Begins the World Cup with a Global Scandal - Tanja7 English","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/tanja7.com\/en\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/tanja7.com\/en\/12136#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/tanja7.com\/en\/12136#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/tanja7.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/image-2026-06-11T105111.112_Tanja7.webp","datePublished":"2026-06-11T10:25:57+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/tanja7.com\/en\/#\/schema\/person\/effb4ebf2e0b9c32a577250bf6751e3e"},"breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/tanja7.com\/en\/12136#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/tanja7.com\/en\/12136"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/tanja7.com\/en\/12136#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/tanja7.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/image-2026-06-11T105111.112_Tanja7.webp","contentUrl":"https:\/\/tanja7.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/image-2026-06-11T105111.112_Tanja7.webp","width":1408,"height":736},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/tanja7.com\/en\/12136#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/tanja7.com\/en\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Algeria Begins the World Cup with a Global Scandal"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/tanja7.com\/en\/#website","url":"https:\/\/tanja7.com\/en\/","name":"Tanja7 English","description":"All the news","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/tanja7.com\/en\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/tanja7.com\/en\/#\/schema\/person\/effb4ebf2e0b9c32a577250bf6751e3e","name":"Tanja7","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/34bc74869a70de3f3f92c455d66f4b6f7201a2b8288d8676782f0324aa6c1d0a?s=96&d=mm&r=g","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/34bc74869a70de3f3f92c455d66f4b6f7201a2b8288d8676782f0324aa6c1d0a?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/34bc74869a70de3f3f92c455d66f4b6f7201a2b8288d8676782f0324aa6c1d0a?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"Tanja7"},"sameAs":["https:\/\/tanja7.com\/en"],"url":"https:\/\/tanja7.com\/en\/author\/admin"}]}},"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/tanja7.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/image-2026-06-11T105111.112_Tanja7.webp","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/tanja7.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12136","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/tanja7.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/tanja7.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tanja7.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tanja7.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=12136"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/tanja7.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12136\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tanja7.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/12137"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/tanja7.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=12136"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tanja7.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=12136"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tanja7.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=12136"},{"taxonomy":"tmauthors","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tanja7.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tmauthors?post=12136"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}