PSG manager Christophe Galtier arrested in racism probe
Christophe Galtier, the coach of Paris Saint-Germain (PSG), and his son have been held for interrogation as part of an investigation into alleged prejudice.
The move follows an April inquiry after allegations that he made racist and Islamophobic statements against players while coaching OGC Nice in the 2021-22 season.
Galtier is poised to be fired by PSG following a mainly disappointing season in which the squad suffered 10 defeats and was eliminated from the Champions League in the last-16.
The allegations of prejudice surfaced in April after news outlets cited a leaked email from Nice’s former director of football, Julien Fournier, in which he accused Galtier of claiming there were “too many Black and Muslim players” on the Nice squad.
“He told me that I should take account of the reality of the city and that in effect we should not have as many blacks and Muslims in the team,” claimed Fournier, whose relationship with Galtier was a fraught one.
“He told me he wanted to profoundly change the team’s make-up and limit the maximum number of Muslims.”
Galtier and Fournier both left Nice last year after only one season together, with the former being hired by PSG.
A PSG representative told Al Jazeera in April that the club was not looking into the allegations.
“The manager informed the club about the allegations and that he is taking legal action, and since this is a legal case now, we will not comment on it,” the club’s official said, adding that PSG has a “very strong stance against racism”.
In a statement released by his lawyer to French media, Galtier said in April that he was “stunned to learn of the insulting and defamatory” allegation.
“Given the seriousness of the accusations against him, and which he firmly denies, Christophe Galtier has asked his lawyer to begin without delay the judicial proceedings, which are all the more necessary given that, since this came out, he has been the target of intolerable threats and harassment,” the statement said.
He filed his own defamation suit against Fournier and the journalist who reported the allegations.
We have recently deactivated our website's comment provider in favour of other channels of distribution and commentary. We encourage you to join the conversation on our stories via our Facebook, Twitter and other social media pages.
More from Peoples Gazette
Agriculture
FG tasks ECOWAS on leveraging financing strategies for agroecology
The federal government has urged stakeholders in the agriculture and finance sectors in the West Africa region to leverage financing strategies to enhance agroecology practices
Politics
Katsina youths pledge to deliver over 2 million votes to Atiku
“Katsina State is Atiku’s political base because it is his second home.”
Politics
Nigerians react as INEC reposts Tinubu aide’s message
The statement denied allegations that INEC Chairman, Prof. Joash Amupitan, supported President Tinubu during the 2023 general election.
Economy
LIRS extends individual tax filing deadline to April 21
The LIRS said the extension followed an earlier shift to April 14, citing increased traffic on the electronic tax platform.
NationWide
2027: APC releases elections timetable, pegs presidential ticket at N100 million, governorship N50 million
The APC plans to hold its presidential primaries on May 28 and 29, 2026, as it adopts direct primaries across the 36 states and the FCT.
Economy
RTI pushes Nigeria, Central Europe economic cooperation
The institute said such partnerships will serve as knowledge-sharing platforms.
Economy
Lekki Port partners China on capacity development
The initiative is designed to enhance technical capacity and expose staff to global best practices in port management.
Hot news Home top
‘Lucifer’ attacks three with machete in New York
The suspect had been arrested three times before, but had no history of being an emotionally disturbed person.
