Christophe Galtier came out of silence, this Friday, April 14, on the heavy accusations of racism that have targeted him for a week, while a preliminary investigation was entrusted to the judicial police in the morning. « The Obs » review the case.
- First speech
During a press conference at the beginning of the afternoon this Friday, Christophe Galtier spoke to the media for the first time since the start of the affair. The PSG press officer first spoke for a few minutes to announce that the club supported their coach and called “to appeasement”.
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The 56-year-old coach said to himself “shocked by the words that are attributed to him” and announced its intention to“to sue anyone who harms (his) honor”before concluding by saying that it “would not bring no further comment on this”.
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« I am a child of the HLM housing estates, brought up in the mix ” he said, before adding ” the values of sharing are mine”. He also confessed to being ” refugee in work » pour « vent and forget what was said on (his) “.
- “He wanted to limit the number of Muslim players as much as possible”
The PSG coach has been facing a growing controversy since the publication Tuesday evening, by the independent journalist Romain Molina then the media RMC Sports, of an email addressed to the former director of OGC Nice, Julien Fournier, which reports remarks by Galtier deemed discriminatory about part of the Nice team.
Julien Fournier reports in particular these comments attributed to Christophe Galtier, who moved from Nice to PSG last summer:
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“He then replied 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. He told me of his desire to change the team in depth, also specifying that he wanted to limit the number of Muslim players as much as possible. »
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This email, which AFP could not authenticate, was sent at the end of last season to Dave Brailsford, Sport Director at Ineos, the petrochemical group that owns the Nice club, to denounce racist and Islamophobic statements in as part of membership building or group management.
- Disputes within the Nice club
Christophe Galtier has denied these accusations, stating that he “read with amazement the insulting and defamatory remarks of Mr. Julien Fournier against him”as his lawyer, Maître Olivier Martin, said in a press release sent to AFP on Wednesday afternoon.
“Given the seriousness of the charges brought against him, which he disputes with the greatest firmness, Christophe Galtier immediately seized his lawyer (…) to initiate, without delay, the necessary legal proceedings which are necessary and this especially since since this disclosure, he has been the subject of intolerable threats and acts of harassment.is it still written.
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Julien Fournier admitted on Wednesday to having “disputes” with the coach, but assured not to be ” in no way behind the dissemination of this year-old internal information at the time of my departure from the club”without however denying its existence.
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OGC Nice also reacted in a press release: “The facts related concern two people who no longer work for OGC Nice. This situation was treated with the utmost seriousness at the time of the events. The club won’t comment further.”the club said.
Leaders and coaches of L1 defended him on Thursday, like his Lensois counterparts Franck Haise and Rennes Bruno Genesio, the president of OL, Jean-Michel Aulas, or Roland Romeyer, the president of the management board of the AS Saint-Etienne, which Galtier coached for seven and a half seasons.
The former assistant coach of Christophe Galtier at Losc, the Portuguese Jorge Maciel, told AFP on Thursday that he had no “never felt any discrimination or difference” from the PSG coach.
His former striker in Lille, the Turkish Burak Yilmaz, also supported him on Wednesday on social networks: “I worked with Galtier and I never perceived the slightest negative behavior on his part because of my religion or my nationality. »
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Same tone on the side of José Fonte, the Lille captain whom Galtier coached during his time at Losc: “In three years of work, he has always been close to his players and, above all, very respectful”he explained on Instagram.
On the other hand, Yassine Benzia, former player of Christophe Galtier in Lille, published a more enigmatic message on Instagram. “When the lie takes the elevator, the truth takes the stairs, it takes longer but it always ends up arriving”he wrote, along with a hashtag « #RamadanGate ».
