PSG Christophe Galtier and son detained over racism accusations

Paris Saint-Germain coach Christophe Galtier and his son have been detained as part of an investigation into allegations of racism at one of his former clubs, Nice prosecutor Xavier Bonhomme told The Associated Press.

Galtier and his son, John Valovic-Galtier, were taken into custody Friday morning for questioning, Bonhomme said without elaborating.

Galtier, who is on his way to PSG but still under contract, denied allegations he made racist and anti-Muslim comments while in charge of French club Nice when the scandal broke earlier this year.

RMC Sport and other French media outlets published reports citing a leaked email from Nice’s former director of football Julien Fournier to the owners of the club, accusing Galtier of saying there are too many black and Muslim players in the squad sat.

Galtier said he felt hurt “at the deepest level” of his humanity by the allegations and has taken legal action.

Bonhomme said at the time that a preliminary investigation had been opened into “discrimination based on alleged race or religion”. He said it was handled by Nice police with searches of the club’s headquarters.

PSG head of communications Julien Maynard said “serious allegations” had been made against Galtier and that the club fully supported him.

RMC Sport said Fournier, who had been at odds with Galtier during his tenure at Nice, wrote to Ineos sporting director Dave Brailsford to update him on the details of a conversation he had with the coach.

Ineos acquired the southern club in 2019 and appointed Galtier as coach in 2021 after winning the title with Lille. He spent a season at Nice before joining PSG. Fournier left Nice in 2022 after more than ten years at the club.

Fournier is said to have said that in August 2021, Galtier complained that there were too many black and Muslim players on the team and that it did not reflect the ethnological profile of the city. Fournier told local newspaper Nice-Matin that he was not responsible for the leaked document.

Fournier had previously mentioned serious problems with Galtier during an interview with RMC, saying the PSG coach could never “enter a dressing room” again if he explained the reasons behind their dispute.

Galtier, 56, led PSG to another French league title as expected, but PSG were knocked out early this season in the Champions League and French Cup by rivals Marseille. PSG’s form slumped after the World Cup, with 10 defeats in 28 games in 2023.

Galtier still has one year left on his contract, but PSG have reportedly held talks with Luis Enrique to replace him in the coming days.