Nice have tonight released a statement in response to reports of an email sent by former director Julien Fournier accusing last season’s manager Christophe Galtier of prejudices against the team’s black and Muslim players.
The email, which was first reported on by Romain Molina last night before being corroborated on RMC Sport’s show L’After Foot, was reportedly sent by Fournier to INEOS’ Dave Brailsford. It centres around a meeting with Galtier’s agent/son-in-law and the coach himself, in which the latter allegedly complained that “our team does not reflect what people want, just as it does not reflect myself”, while later taking issue with players fasting for Ramadan.
In their short release tonight, Les Aiglons explain that both men no longer work for the club – Fournier left in the summer, and Galtier joined Paris Saint-Germain after the end of last season, and that “this situation was treated with the utmost seriousness at the time of the events. The club will make no further comment.”
Fournier has denied being responsible for the email filtering through today, pointing out the poor timing given Nice play a European quarter-final against Basel tomorrow. Galtier has denied the accusations “in the strongest terms” via his lawyer, in a statement made to AFP.
GFFN | Raphaël Jucobin
