“ I do not accept that we can say that Christophe Galtier is a racist “, defended the former PSG coach on Sunday on Canal+, who will be tried in December on charges of moral harassment and discriminatory remarks when he coached Nice.
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“ It’s false, extremely false, football people know me », expressed Christophe Galtier for his first interview since his ouster from Paris SG at the beginning of July. “ I am not accused of racism, the prosecutor sends me to court for two offenses, the first, moral harassment against certain players, the second discrimination against certain players, it is totally different », continued the coach.
The affair broke out after the revelation by independent journalist Romain Molina and then RMC radio of an email, which AFP was unable to authenticate, addressed to the management of the Nice club by former sports director Julien Fournier, with whom Galtier had execrable relations.
“My players managed Ramadan…”
Fournier reported these words attributed to the coach: “ He then replied to me that I had to take into account the reality of the city and that in fact, we could not have so many blacks and Muslims on the team”; “He told me about his desire to fundamentally change the team while also specifying that he wanted to limit the number of Muslim players as much as possible “.
How to explain it? “ I know, but I’m going to explain it in December, that’s for sure », replied Galtier.
“ During Ramadan, as a coach, I have only one obsession: the health of the players, the performance of my team “, he explained. “ My players handled Ramadan the way they wanted, and they all played “.
He will be tried on December 15 before the Nice criminal court for offenses punishable by three years in prison and a fine of 45,000 euros.
🗣️ Christophe Galtier returns to the accusations made by Julien Fournier, former director of football at OGC Nice
🗨️ “It’s false. (…) I can’t accept being called racist. I’m the opposite of that” pic.twitter.com/zxC6I8s4gT
— CANAL+ Foot (@CanalplusFoot) September 17, 2023
(With AFP)