Paris Saint Germain manager Christophe Galtier has refuted making racist comments during the time he was the coach of OGC Nice.
Via a leaked email sent to the owners of Nice, it was claimed that the Frenchman stated there were a lot of black and Muslim players in his team.
Christophe Galtier was head coach of Nice during the 2021 – 2022 campaign and the prosecution office of Nice has begun early investigations into “discrimination based on alleged race or religion”.
Galtier stated: “I have decided to take legal action against those who have violated my honour and I can only be satisfied with the opening of an investigation.
“I was stunned by the comments that were attributed to me and that were relayed in an irresponsible manner.
The Frenchman added: “I am a child of the HLM estates (subsidised housing estates), raised in diversity, raised to respect others no matter their origin, their colour or their religion.”
The Parisians stated that the team backs Galtier and “wishes that the judicial system will shine a light on the truth of the serious allegations against our coach”.
Turkish attacker Burak Yilmaz, who is Muslim and lifted the Ligue 1 title with Lille under Christoph Galtier, has defended his ex-boss.
Burak Yilmaz said: “I worked with Galtier and never felt negative behaviour from him about my religion or nationality.
“He is a great coach as well as a great person.”
Christophe Galtier was also the former manager of Saint-Etienne between 2009 and 2017 leading the side to win the 2012/13 Coupe de la Ligue before he penned a deal with Lille in 2017.
The Frenchman was manager of Lille from 2017 to 2021 and he led the side to win the 2020/21 French Ligue 1 title.
He afterwards signed for Nice leading the team to the 2021/2022 Coupe de France final only losing in the final to Nantes.
With Paris Saint-Germain, Galtier has won the Trophee des Champions in 2022 and he is on course to win the 2022/23 Ligue 1 title.
Individually, the Frenchman was named the Ligue 1 Manager of the Year for the 2012/13 campaign alongside the 2018/19 and 2020/21 season.
Paris Saint-Germain have declined commencing an investigation into the supposed comments made by the under-fire manager.
But their vociferous Ultras have taken a strong position, implying that Galtier should be let dismissed if the alleged comments are indeed factual.
The Paris Saint-Germain Ultras stated: “The Ultras Paris Collective is closely following the Galtier case, If the facts he is accused of are proven, it is not acceptable that this person remains in the organizational chart of the club. We recall that we have always taken a stand against all forms of discrimination.”
More information about this saga would be revealed in the days ahead. In the main time, it is not looking like the coach is guilty of the allegations but if he is, he is most likely to lose his managerial role at PSG.
