Paris Saint-Germain coach Christophe Galtier and his son have been detained in an investigation into racism allegations at one of his former clubs.
ADVERTISEMENTGaltier and his son, John Valovic-Galtier, were placed in custody for questioning on Friday morning, Nice's prosecutor Xavier Bonhomme said.
Galtier, who is on his way out at PSG but still under contract, denied accusations that he made racist and anti-Muslim comments when he was in charge of French club Nice earlier this year.
RMC Sport and other French media published reports quoting a leaked email from former Nice director of football Julien Fournier to the club’s owners, Ineos, in which he accused Galtier of saying there were too many Black and Muslim players in the squad.
Galtier said he felt hurt “at the deepest level” of his humanity by the accusations and has taken legal action.
Bonhomme said at the time that a preliminary investigation had been opened into “discrimination on the grounds of alleged race or religion.” He said it was being 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 was at odds with Galtier during his tenure at Nice, wrote to Ineos director of sports Dave Brailsford to let him know about 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 he won the title with Lille. He spent one season at Nice before joining PSG. Fournier left Nice in 2022 after more than a decade at the club.
Fournier had previously mentioned serious issues with Galtier during an interview with RMC, saying the PSG coach would never be able “to enter a locker room again” if he explained the reasons behind their dispute.
The 56-year-old Galtier led PSG to another French league title as expected, but PSG was eliminated early in the Champions League and the French Cup by rival Marseille this season. PSG’s form slumped after the World Cup, with 10 losses in 28 games in 2023.
Galtier has one year left on his contract but PSG has reportedly been holding talks with Luis Enrique to replace him in the coming days.