PSG coach Galtier, son arrested over ‘racism’

Police in France have arrested Christophe Galtier, coach of Paris Saint-Germain (PSG), and his son as part of an ongoing probe into alleged racism.

According to Al-Jazeera, Galtier and John Valovic-Galtier, his son, were detained on Friday following the investigation into racism allegations at OGC Nice, his former club.

The investigation — launched in April — followed after allegations that he made racist and Islamophobic remarks about players when he coached OGC Nice in the 2021-22 season.

Some French media outlets earlier quoted a leaked email from Julien Fournier, the former Nice director of football, to the club’s owners, in which Galtier was accused of saying there “were too many Black and Muslim players in the squad”.

“He [Galtier] 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,” Fournier was quoted to have said.

“He told me he wanted to profoundly change the team’s make-up and limit the maximum number of Muslims.”

Galtier had denied the allegation and launched a defamation suit against Fournier.

The 56-year-old, who led PSG to another French League title, could be sacked in the coming days following an underwhelming season, where the club was eliminated early in the Champions League and lost the French Cup to Marseille.