According to Nice prosecutor Xavier Bonhomme, Paris Saint-Germain coach Christophe Galtier and his son have been detained as part of French inquiry into claims of racism at one of his former clubs. Bonhomme stated without going into further detail that Galtier and his son, John Valovic-Galtier, were taken into custody for interrogation on Friday morning.
However, Galtier, who is leaving PSG but is still under contract, refuted claims that he made anti-Muslim and racist remarks when leading French club Nice at the time the issue surfaced earlier this year. In an email to the club's owners that was leaked, former Nice director of football Julien Fournier accused Galtier of complaining that the team had too many Black and Muslim players. This information was reported by RMC Sport and other French media outlets. The claims, according to Galtier, damaged him "at the deepest level" of his humanity, and he has filed a lawsuit.
PSG Head of Communications unanimously supports Christophe Galtier:
Meanwhile, PSG Head of Communications Julie Maynard condemned the 'serious allegations' against Galtier and stated that the management fully backs him. According to RMC Sport, Fournier, who had disagreements with Galtier when at Nice, wrote to Dave Brailsford, the head of sports at Ineos, to inform him of the specifics of a conversation he had with the coach.
Galtier allegedly complained in August 2021 that the squad had too many Black and Muslim players and did not represent the ethnic makeup of the city, according to Fournier. According to Fournier, the document was not his doing, as reported by the neighbourhood newspaper Nice-Matin.
In a prior interview with RMC, Fournier raised major concerns with Galtier, claiming that the PSG coach would never be able "to enter a locker room again" if he disclosed the details of their disagreement.
Christophe Galtier left with one more year in his PSG contract:
Although PSG was expected to win another French league title under the 56-year-old Galtier, this season PSG was upset by rival Marseille in both the French Cup and the Champions League. Following the World Cup, PSG's performance dipped, with 10 losses in 28 games in 2023.
Despite Galtier having one year left on his contract, PSG is apparently in talks with Luis Enrique to replace him soon.
