Former Paris Saint-Germain coach Christophe Galtier’s trial forces French soccer to face racism reckoning

Three months after leaving French soccer club OGC Nice, Julien Fournier, who had served as their sporting director until July 2022, spoke of tensions with his former colleague Christophe Galtier.

Three months after leaving French soccer club OGC Nice, Julien Fournier, who had served as their sporting director until July 2022, spoke of tensions with his former colleague Christophe Galtier. The 57-year-old Galtier had coached OGC Nice during the 2021-22 season, before his appointment as Paris Saint-Germain coach in July 2022. “If I explain the real reasons why we quarreled,” Fournier told radio station RMC, “Christophe would never enter a locker room again, neither in France nor in Europe … It wasn’t about soccer. It was about something much more serious.” At the time Fournier refused to elaborate on the exact reasons for the dispute between the two men. Fifteen months and several allegations later, Galtier is standing trial on Friday at the Nice courthouse on counts of moral harassment and discrimination, according to the Nice prosecutor. If he is found guilty, Galtier could face up to three years in prison and a €45,000 fine ($49,000), according to the prosecutor’s office.