Speaking to Canal Plus Football Club, former Paris Saint-Germain and OGC Nice manager Christophe Galtier rejected accusations of racism, tabled by former colleague and Nice sporting director Julien Fournier.
Galtier, as well as his son John Valovic, were accused of racist remarks, dating back to the Frenchman’s time as Nice manager during the 2021/22 season. The revelations were leaked in a purported email from Fournier, who brought Galtier to the Allianz Riviera. The pair left the club in the summer of 2022. In an interview with Nice-Matin, Fournier confirmed writing the email as a means of “protecting” himself.
A criminal investigation is currently underway, and as reported by Le Parisien, Galtier was taken into custody in Nice back in June. As well as confronting the accusations in their entirety, Galtier also denied interfering with his players’ Ramadan fast, as well as dropping those who chose to practice it. It had been reported by Nice-Matin back in April that he had asked players not to fast.
“It’s false, completely false,” began Galtier. “People in football know me, players know me, managers know me, but obviously in such an affair, we keep one phrase and we don’t keep all the people that have supported me. On Ramadan, and the period of Ramadan, me, as a manager, I have just one obsession: the health of my players and the performance of my team – full stop.”
He added, “My players managed Ramadan as they wanted. They all played. We can analyse, judge, and criticise the way that I made the team play, that I’m called a defensive coach, but I can’t accept being called a racist. I can’t accept it. I am the opposite of that.”
GFFN | Luke Entwistle
