Former PSG coach Christophe Galtier, placed in police custody on Friday June 30, will be entitled to a trial next December.
Fired from PSG, but still under contract (negotiations are underway to end the last year of the contract), Christophe Galtier and his son John Valovic-Galtier were placed in police custody in Nice on Friday June 30 as part of the investigation into suspicions of discrimination at theOGC Nice. If his son was quickly released without any charge against him, Christophe Galtier remained longer in the hands of the police.
The French technician, after his release, was “referred to the prosecution for his summons to the Nice Criminal Court, on December 15, 2023, to be tried on charges of moral harassment and discrimination on the grounds of belonging or not belonging, real or supposed, to an ethnic group, a nation or a so-called determined race or religion”. Judged on December 15 at the Nice Criminal Court, Christophe Galtier faces a maximum of up to three years in prison and a fine of 45,000 euros according to articles 225-1 and following, 222-33-2 and following of the Penal Code.
The Galtier Affair
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 program L’After foot on RMC.
“He then replied […] that indeed, we couldn’t have so many blacks and Muslims in the team.”
The leaked email was authenticated by RMC as coming from the former sports director of OGC Nice, Julien Fournier, when Christophe Galtier was still on the Nice bench. He relates 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 all this was 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 that we have a black team’ then added: ‘Julien you must realize what city we are in, we are in the town 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 religious or skin color arguments”.
In Nice, Christophe Galtier would have been annoyed in particular 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 Nice morning who published a survey on April 12.
Christophe Galtier, during this period, would have mentioned “the difficulty of winning matches” with footballers practicing fasting, considering this deprivation “too impactful on the performance of the players”. The current Parisian coach would even have come according to Nice morning to threaten the Algerian midfielder Hicham Boudaoui not to be established if he refused to eat during the day.
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 was associated “with [s]it depends”, without denying that I was the author of the email which leaked to the media. club”, nevertheless reacted the former Nice leader, still in the columns of nice morning. “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 known in the world of football. “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 fairly quickly. In a statement sent to AFP on April 13 by his lawyer, the PSG coach said he contested “with the greatest firmness” the accusations of racism. 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 were lent to him. At a press conference, Christophe Galtier had read a press release and had not wanted to dwell on the subject, wanting to leave the work of justice. “Like many of you, I am deeply shocked by the comments that I am given and which have been relayed by some in an irresponsible way, he said at a press conference a few days after the revelation of the email. They strike me in the depths of my humanity. I am a child of low-rental housing estates, brought up in diversity, in the values of sharing and respect for others, whatever their origin, color or religion. All my life as a man, as a footballer and then as a coach has been dictated by the concern for sharing and living well with others. I cannot accept that my name and my family are soiled in this way.” For several weeks, the case, still under investigation, had not offered new statements from the French technician.