The current Paris Saint-Germain head coach, Christophe Galtier, has been summoned to stand trial in Nice as part of an investigation into allegations of racism while he was at the helm of fellow Ligue 1 side OGC Nice during the 2021/22 season.
Galtier and his adopted son, John Valovic-Galtier, were placed in custody for questioning on the morning of Friday, June 30. Valovic-Galtier was released without charge, but his father was referred to the public prosecutor’s office in relation to accusations of alleged discrimination and racist remarks made in 2021, which emerged back in April of this year.
In a leaked email sent to Nice’s owners INEOS – controlled by Monaco resident Sir Jim Ratcliffe – in April, it was alleged Galtier said there were too many black and Muslim players in the squad. At the time Galtier said he was “deeply shocked by the claims” and started a defamation suit against two journalists and ex-Nice sporting director Julien Fournier, the latter of which he was at odds with throughout his tenure at the club.
Now, Galtier has been charged with “moral harassment and discrimination on the grounds of actual or supposed membership or non-membership of a particular ethnic group, nation, alleged race or religion,” said Nice’s public prosecutor Xavier Bonhomme.
Galtier has subsequently been summoned to stand trial in Nice on December 15, 2023, and if found guilty risks a maximum sentence of three years in jail and a fine of 45,000 euros.
Featured image REUTERS/Benoit Tessier
