A prosecutor announced Friday that Paris Saint-Germain coach Christophe Galtier has been summoned to stand trial in December as part of an inquiry into racism charges at his former club Nice.
On Friday morning, Galtier and his son, John Valovic-Galtier, were taken into custody for questioning.
Galtier was sent to the public prosecutor’s office after his son was released without prosecution, and he will stand trial in Nice on December 15 on allegations of psychological abuse and discrimination, prosecutor Xavier Bonhomme announced on Twitter.
Galtier faces a potential term of three years in prison and a fine of 45,000 euros ($49,000) if proven guilty.
Galtier, who is leaving PSG but is still under contract, has denied making racist and anti-Muslim statements when in charge of Nice when the issue surfaced earlier this year.
According to RMC Sport and other French media, a leaked email from former Nice director of football Julien Fournier to the club’s owners accused Galtier of suggesting there were too many Black and Muslim players in the squad.
Galtier stated that the claims upset him “at the deepest level” of his humanity and that he has taken legal action.
At the time, Bonhomme stated that a preliminary investigation into “discrimination on the basis of alleged race or religion” had been launched. Nice police, he claimed, were conducting searches of the club’s headquarters.
Julien Maynard, PSG’s head of communications, stated that “serious allegations” had been made against Galtier and that the club fully supported him.
According to RMC Sport, Fournier, who had a falling out with Galtier during his time at Nice, wrote to Ineos head of sports Dave Brailsford to inform him of the facts of a conversation he had with the coach.
Ineos bought the southern club in 2019 and hired Galtier as coach in 2021 after he won the league with Lille. He played for Nice for one season before joining PSG. Fournier left Nice after more than a decade with the club in 2022.
According to Fournier, Galtier protested in August 2021 that there were too many Black and Muslim players on the squad, and that it did not match the city’s ethnological character. Fournier told the Nice-Matin newspaper that he was not responsible for the leaked document.
Fournier had stated major difficulties with Galtier in an interview with RMC, claiming the PSG coach would never be able “to enter a locker room again” if he detailed the grounds for their disagreement.
The 56-year-old Galtier led PSG to another French league victory, but the club was knocked out of the Champions League and the French Cup early this season by rival Marseille. PSG’s form deteriorated following the World Cup, with 10 losses in 28 games in 2023.
Galtier’s contract expires in a year, although PSG is allegedly in talks with Luis Enrique to replace him in the coming days.
Source: AP