Subject of a preliminary investigation for suspicion of “discrimination based on an alleged race or affiliation to a religion” during his time at OGC Nice, Christophe Galtier decided to respond. According to his lawyer Olviier Martin, the Paris Saint-Germain coach filed a complaint on Friday April 21 for death threats and defamation against Julien Fournier and two journalists. Contacted by AFP, the Paris prosecutor’s office confirmed that a complaint from Christophe Galtier had been received on Friday at the national center for the fight against online hate.
These complaints target Julien Fournier, former football director of OGC Nice, as well as the two journalists Daniel Riolo and Romain Molina for defamation and endangerment by disseminating information. Another for harassment and death threats against X was also filed, said the lawyer.
“We hope that the Paris prosecutor will act with the same speed as the Nice prosecutor so that Christophe Galtier gets out of this case as quickly as possible,” Olivier Martin told AFP on Friday, adding that his client had no not yet heard by Nice PJ investigators.
In an e-mail addressed to the management of the Nice club revealed by the independent journalist Romain Molina then RMC, which AFP could not authenticate, the former director of OGC Nice Julien Fournier, with whom Galtier maintained execrable relations, reported in particular these remarks attributed to the PSG coach: “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” and “he told me of his desire to change the team fundamentally, also specifying that he wanted to limit the number of Muslim players as much as possible”.
A preliminary investigation was opened by the Nice prosecutor’s office for suspicions of “discrimination based on an alleged race or affiliation to a religion” and searches took place last Friday at the premises of OGC Nice.
