Christophe Galtier, current PSG coach. (AFP)
The coach of Paris Saint-Germain, Christophe Galtier, “denies with the greatest firmness” having referred to players with discriminatory terms when he directed Nice, his lawyer reacted this Wednesday in a statement transmitted to the AFP agency.
The French coach, who went from Nice to PSG at the end of last season, “has been stunned by the insulting and defamatory statements” allegedly denounced by the former Nice manager Julien Fournier in an internal email echoed on Tuesday by various media outlets, said the lawyer Oliver Martinwhich announced that “judicial actions” will be taken.
The independent journalist Romain Molina, and later the media RMC Sportsspoke of the existence of an email written at the end of last season in which Julien Fournier denounced some discriminatory words from Christopher Galtier in relation to a part of the Nice dressing room, in which he would have alluded to his origins and his religion, shortly after arriving at Nice.
That message, that the AFP could not authenticate, it would have been sent by Julien Fournier to Dave BrailsfordDirector of Sport at Ineos, the petrochemical group that owns the club in the south of France.
“Taking into account the seriousness of the accusations made against him, which he strongly denies, Christophe Galtier immediately turned to his lawyer, Olivier Martin, to promptly take the necessary legal action, all the more so considering that since this disclosure it is target of intolerable threats and acts of harassment,” the lawyer wrote in the statement.
with private protection
Julien Fournier, who left Nice in July 2022, claims for his part that he is not involved in the dissemination of the mail, although he does not seem to deny its existence.
“I am currently in Brazil, far from this controversy in which I see myself splashed despite myself. In no case am I behind the dissemination of this internal information ”, he affirmed in a statement transmitted to the AFP.
Nice also reacted this Wednesday, through a brief statement: “The events reported concern two people who no longer work for Nice. This situation was treated in the most serious manner at the time of the events. The club will not make any further comments.
Asked, PSG has not commented at the moment.
The coach, against the ropes at PSG due to poor results -eliminated in the Champions League and in the Cup, leader in Ligue 1 but irregular in recent days-, was placed in private protection by his club after receiving threats, his lawyer said .
With a contract until 2024, the former defender is experiencing a very difficult season at all levels at PSG, the most prestigious club he has led after his experiences at Saint-Étienne (2009-2017), Lille (2017-2021) and Nice (2021-2022).
