CHRISTOPHER GALTIER. Nice-Matin has published an investigation into Christophe Galtier’s move to OGC Nice. The newspaper reveals that the PSG coach, already accused of having made racist remarks, would have caused a heavy controversy around Ramadan when he was on the Nice bench …
The revelations accumulate. Nearly 48 hours after the revelations of the independent journalist Romain Molina and RMC Sports against Christophe Galtier, the Nice-Matin newspaper published an investigation, this Wednesday evening, on the eventful passage of the Parisian coach at the OGC Nice between 2021 and 2022. The daily newspaper notably revealed behind the scenes of the scandal which has taken a dramatic turn since yesterday, in particular on the animosity which has arisen between the coach and the former sports director of the Gym, Julien Fournier .
Christophe Galtier, quoted since Tuesday in an email attributed to Julien Fournier himself recounting racist remarks at the time of their stormy collaboration, would have even led according to Nice-Matin what looks like a crusade against Ramadan, practiced by several players from the Côte d’Azur workforce. Christophe Galtier would have been particularly annoyed by several recruitments made by the club on the initiative of Julien Fournier, in particular the arrival of players of Muslim faith in its workforce.
Thus, in April 2022, “the month of Ramadan would have caused the locker room to implode”, according to journalists from the regional daily. Christophe Galtier, during this period of fasting, would have mentioned “the difficulty of winning matches” with players practicing fasting, considering this practice “too impactful on the performance of the players”. The current Parisian coach would even have come, according to Nice-Matin, to threaten the Algerian midfielder Hicham Boudaoui not to be established if he refused to eat during the day.
What can now be described as the “Galtier affair” really exploded on Tuesday, April 11. The independent journalist Romain Molina was the first that day to relay on social networks an e-mail, without header or signature, in which discriminatory remarks were attributed to Christophe Galtier. The same evening, the same document was broadcast on the show L’After foot on RMC.
The leaked email was authenticated by RMC as coming from the former OGC sports director, Nice Julien Fournier, when Christophe Galtier was still on the Nice bench. He recounts an explanation he would have had with the coach after an exchange with him and his son John Valovic-Galtier, also a sports advisor. “Once his agent/son left, I reported to Christophe (Galtier) about the discussion I had just had and asked him if it was all true. He then replied that yes and that I had to take into account the reality ‘of the city’ and that indeed, we could not have so many blacks and Muslims in the team”, can we read in this email.
“He said to me ‘last night I went to the restaurant and everyone ran into me saying we have a black team’ and then added: ‘Julien you have to realize what city we are in, we we are in the city of Jacques Médecin (former mayor of Nice, editor’s note), and our team does not correspond to what people want, as it does not correspond to me’, there was no sporting argument but only arguments religion or skin color”.
Julien Fournier, who was “in Brazil” when the affair broke out on April 11, said the next day that he was “far from this controversy” with which he is associated “at [s]es depends”, without however denying that he was the author of the email that leaked to the media. “I am in no way responsible for the dissemination of this year-old internal information when I left the club”, nevertheless reacted the former Nice manager, still in the columns of Nice Matin. “The timing of these revelations revolts me as much as their content,” he explained.
The conflict between Christophe Galtier and Julien Fournier during their collaboration at OGC Nice was well known in the football world. “The relationship I could have with Christophe was quite chaotic from the start of last season. If I explain the real reasons why Christophe and I had a fight, Christophe will no longer go into a locker room in France or Europe” , explained Julien Fournier last fall.
“I don’t want to get tired of debating everything that is said. The function automatically creates a debate one after the other. On the form, I’m not surprised knowing the character. There you go, it’s That’s all I have to tell you,” commented the PSG coach after this first spade from his ex-sports director.
Very quickly stigmatized, Christophe Galtier reacted on Wednesday April 11, undoubtedly hoping to deflate the controversy before the PSG-Lens shock this weekend in Ligue 1, in an already very tense sporting context at Camp des Loges. In a press release sent to AFP on Wednesday afternoon by his lawyer, the PSG coach said he contested “with the greatest firmness” the reproaches made to him, namely racist remarks that the Parisian coach would have made when was coach of OGC Nice during the 2021-2022 season. Through Me Olivier Martin, Christophe Galtier even assured that he wanted to “start legal proceedings” since he “learned with amazement of the insulting and defamatory remarks” which are lent to him.
Preview at the PSG training center on the morning of Wednesday April 12, according to the Parisian, the coach would be “destroyed and shot down”. Also according to the weekly, some of his relatives described him as “stunned”. His first public appearance in front of the press is eagerly awaited, Friday at 1 p.m. for the pre-match press conference.
According to information from RMC Sport, Christophe Galtier’s mobile number would also have leaked on Twitter, which would have earned the PSG coach a multitude of messages and phone calls. “Nearly 5,000 calls and messages” including “death threats” which led Paris-Saint-Germain to set up personal protection for Christophe Galtier and his family.
The revelations caused a torrent of reactions in the world of football. If Kylian Mbappé, questioned on the sidelines of a public outing at the Stade de France on April 12, remained stoic in the face of journalists, Nice coach Didier Digard assured before the meeting between Basel and Le Gym in the Europa League Conference this Thursday April 13 that “the truth will eventually come out”.
But Christophe Galtier also benefits from support. On Wednesday, the Turk Burak Yilmaz said he “never felt the slightest negative behavior on his part because of [his] religion or [s] nationality”. Lille defender José Fonte described him as “a very respectful man”. Roland Romeyer also protested the situation. “Excuse me? Christophe Galtier racist? What is this bullshit?”, would have scolded the leader of AS Saint-Etienne.
While RMC Sport had announced at midday on April 12 that PSG would open an internal investigation into its coach, Laurent Perrin, journalist and head of the “PSG” section at Le Parisien, denied this information in the aftermath. noon. He claimed in a tweet that the club had not taken any steps regarding a possible investigation.
Nasser Al-Khelaifi, the boss of PSG, was in any case not aware of the remarks which were attributed to Christophe Galtier. “If he had known, Galtier could never have signed for PSG, impossible,” a member of the QSI boss’s entourage told the television channel in recent hours.
PSG supporters published a press release on Wednesday afternoon in which they demand the departure of the current coach if “the facts with which he is accused are proven”. The Collectif Ultras Paris, which “closely follows the Galtier affair”, considers “that it is not acceptable for this person to remain in the club’s organization chart”, if however, the truth was that detailed in Julien’s email. Fournier. Simultaneously, the ultras from Nice also published a press release against the former Gym coach. On Saturday April 8, during the 30th day of the Ligue 1 championship, they erected an insulting banner against Christophe Galtier. Very unhappy, the latter had, according to several media, wanted to “stop the match”.
