RC Lens Play Friendly for Imprisoned Journalist After PSG Match Postponement
RC Lens played a friendly match against FC Rouen on Saturday, a fixture arranged after their scheduled Ligue 1 clash with Paris Saint-Germain was postponed. The match, which Lens won 2-1, was dedicated to raising awareness for the case of journalist Christophe Gleizes, who is currently imprisoned in Algeria.
The match was organized after Lens's Ligue 1 fixture against Paris Saint-Germain was postponed by the Ligue de Football Professionnel (LFP) at PSG's request, as the Parisian club prepares for their UEFA Champions League quarter-final second leg against Liverpool. Seeking to maintain match fitness and support a cause, Lens arranged a friendly against National side FC Rouen at the Stade Bollaert-Delelis.
The game was dedicated to the plight of French journalist Christophe Gleizes, who was sentenced to seven years in prison in Algeria. Lens's director general, Benjamin Parrot, dedicated the match to Gleizes, stating the club's intention to highlight his imprisonment. "We are focused on Christophe," Parrot said. "The whole club is mobilising today... We want to bring an imprisonment that we cannot tolerate, and which has fallen into a form of media anonymity, back to the centre of the pitch. We need to get things moving again quickly."
The decision to host a friendly, rather than a standard training session, was taken to keep the squad sharp and to provide a platform for the campaign for Gleizes's release. The club used the occasion to direct attention to a petition calling for his release. On the pitch, manager Franck Haise used the match to give minutes to his first-team regulars, including key players like Florian Sotoca and Przemyslaw Frankowski, as they prepare for the final stretch of the Ligue 1 season. The 2-1 victory, while a useful exercise, was secondary to the event's primary humanitarian aim, with the club using its platform to advocate for Gleizes's freedom.
