Christophe Galtier has been officially acquitted of racism allegations by a court in Nice today, as reported by RMC Sport. The former PSG manager was accused of harassment and racism mainly against Muslim players during his time as coach of OGC Nice. The Al-Duhail manager was first accused of the allegations in April 2023 when an email sent to Julien Fournier in May 2022 surfaced.
The prosecution ordered for a 12 month suspended prison sentence and a €45,000 fine as punishment should he have been found guilty of the allegations. However, the final verdict from the Nice court has seen the former Lille boss acquitted.
A fractious relationship with Fournier
During the trial, several officials from Nice and INEOS spoke about the irreparable relationship that had formed between Julien Fournier and Christophe Galtier in the time at Nice. Although, several players who were interviewed spoke of a discriminatory climate.
The former Nice boss was accused of racism when he referred to two black opposition defenders as “King Kong”. However, the French manager also relayed to a previous time where he used the same description to describe Nicolas Pallois of Nantes and claimed that the comments were made as a notion of “strength and power” and “not race”.
GFFN | Liam Wraith
