Christophe Galtier acquitted by French court over racism allegations

Christophe Galtier was a former PSG coach

Christophe Galtier received a formally cleared of racism claims by a jury in Nice today, as published by RMC Sport. The former PSG coach was charged with bullying and bigotry particularly towards Muslim footballers throughout his spell as coach of OGC Nice. The Al-Duhail manager was initially accused of the claims in April 2023 after an email addressed to Julien Fournier in May 2022 emerged.

Had he been convicted culpable of the charges, the prosecution had demanded a €45,000 fine in addition to a 12-month suspended jail term. Nonetheless, the former Lille manager was found not guilty in the court’s ultimate decision in Nice.

Several Nice and INEOS personnel mentioned the unbreakable bond that had grown between Julien Fournier and Christophe Galtier while they were at Nice during the trial. Nonetheless, a number of the athletes who were questioned mentioned a hostile environment.

When the former Nice leader called two black rival players “King Kong,” he was charged with racism. The French manager clarified, though, that he had previously used the same word to characterise Nantes’ Nicolas Pallois and asserted that the remarks were based on ideas of “strength and power” rather than “race.”

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Later this year, some months into his work at PSG, RMC Sport and other French media released claims referencing a hacked email from the erstwhile Nice head of football Julien Fournier to the club’s investors.

Galtier was charged with suggesting that the team had an excessive number of Black and Muslim players. Galtier allegedly recommended that players ought to suspend their fasts during Ramadan while he was at Nice.

Nice attorney Xavier Bonhomme launched a preliminary inquiry for “discrimination on the grounds of alleged race or religion” in response to these claims, and inspections of the Nice headquarters were conducted.

According to Fournier, Galtier expressly protested in August 2021 that Nice did not match the ethnological character and had an excessive number of Black and Muslim players.

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