Serious racism allegations weigh on Paris Saint-Germain coaches
Christophe Galtier is under personal protection after the fuss about racist statements
Source: AFP/FRANCK FIFE
PSG coach Christophe Galtier is said to have made disparaging remarks about the skin color and religion of his players during his time at OGC Nice. The trainer defends himself against the allegations – and becomes a target himself.
NAfter a leaked email, allegations of racism against coach Christophe Galtier from French soccer champions Paris Saint-Germain became loud. The background is an incident during his time at the OGC Nice club in the pre-season. On Wednesday, the French media quoted a published email from the then Nice sports director Julien Fournier to the club owners. In it, Fournier accused the coach of saying that there were too many “black and Muslim players” in the southern French squad. “Half the team is in the mosque on Friday,” Galtier is said to have said. “There were no sporting arguments, only religious and skin color arguments,” Fournier is said to have complained in the mail.
In a statement released by Galtier’s lawyer to French media, the coach said he was “stunned to learn of the insulting and defamatory” report. Galtier announced legal action. As the newspaper “Le Parisien” reports, Galtier’s phone number was circulated on social media. The coach reportedly received nearly 5,000 hateful calls and messages, including death threats. That’s why he’s been under personal protection since yesterday.
The email from Fournier to Dave Brailsford, the sports director of club owner Ineos, dates from August 2021, shortly after Galtier took office. In the end, Fournier didn’t have the best relationship with the coach. “If I reveal why we really quarreled, Christophe will never go into a dressing room again. Neither in France, nor in Europe,” he said last September on the TV show “After Foot”.
Fournier denies publishing the mail
However, Fournier emphasized that he was not responsible for publishing the mail. “I am by no means the author of the dissemination of this internal information, which is a year old,” he told the southern French newspaper “Nice-Matin”. “Despite all our differences with Christophe Galtier, I have too much respect for OGC Nice, a club whose colors I have proudly defended for over ten years, and the people there who are preparing for one of the most important European Cup games in their history. The timing of these revelations appalls me as much as their content.” Nice meets FC Basel on Thursday evening (9 p.m.) in the first leg of the quarter-finals of the Conference League.
The association also spoke on Wednesday with a press release. “The facts described concern two people who no longer work for the OGC Nice. This situation was being treated with the utmost seriousness at the time of the incident,” the club wrote. There were no further comments.
Sporting director Fournier left Nice in the summer of 2022, at the same time Galtier joined PSG. The coach is currently under a lot of pressure there after the club failed in the Champions League round of 16 at Bayern and was also eliminated in the cup.