Paris Saint-Germain head coach Christophe Galtier will return to former club OGC Nice tonight for a mouth-watering Ligue 1 clash, but perhaps not all of his former players will be happy to see him, as Nice-Matin report tensions surrounding the handling of Ramadan at Les Aiglons last season.
There’s only a 3-point margin between PSG and second-placed Lens after the Artois side’s win over Strasbourg on Friday. After having led Lille to a shock league title in 2021, Galtier signed a three-year contract with the INEOS-owned club. However, the Marseille-born boss’ tenure as head of Les Aiglons was ultimately underwhelming.
Despite a respectable fifth-place finish in the league, Galtier struggled to form a positive working relationship with the now departed Sporting Director Julien Fournier. Tensions between Galtier and Fournier were at an all-time high after Nice lost the Coupe de France final against Nantes after a gutless display at the Stade de France. Before that, Galtier had already lost part of his squad’s confidence over his handling of Ramadan. Nice-Matin revealed today that Galtier had asked Muslim players not to fast during the Islamic holy month. The outlet adds that some players adhered to Galtier’s request, but others did not, such as Hicham Boudaoui or Jean-Clair Todibo.
Todibo reportedly “exploded” over what he had considered an excess of authority from the Nice coach, and angrily threw a training cone in a middle of a session. However, Galtier still picked Todibo to play all the games during Ramadan last season.
GFFN | Bastien Cheval
