2023-12-21 17:16:55
In the context of the proceedings against the former coach for discrimination and harassment, the court considered that neither offense was serious. Now coach of the Qatari team Al-Duhail, he announced he had filed a complaint for slanderous denunciation.
Christophe Galtier was unable to make the trip to Nice for his relaxation this Thursday afternoon. At the same time, he coaches his Qatari team Al-Duhail. The Nice criminal court considered that neither of the two offenses for which he was prosecuted, discrimination and harassment, were substantiated. For this “victory”, his lawyers called him directly to the stadium, before the match kicked off. At the other end of the phone, the former OGC Nice coach said he was “relieved”.
Dismissed civil parties
On Friday, Christophe Galtier fiercely defended himself at the Nice court. “There are false statements, there are distorted statements,” he insisted. Several members of the staff and players had testified to his “obsession” with Ramadan and his thoughts on Muslims. In particular the desire to reduce the number of “blacks and Arabs in the team”. At 57, Christophe Galtier was also suspected of having excluded Muslim players from recruitment and the match sheet, of having called two opposing players of color “the two King Kongs”, of having described as “extremist” a Muslim footballer, to denigrate the conversion to Islam of a club coach. “It’s false,” the coach repeated tirelessly.
The police investigation led to the transcription of 78 reports. As on the pitch, eleven players from the 2021-2022 season were cited as well as certain members of the staff – all absent from Friday’s hearing. “This file was empty,” said his counsel, Me Sébastien Schapira. There was therefore no reason to condemn Mr. Galtier. The offenses were not characterized. This will allow him to turn the page on these slanders that have been spread for years.” For the Galtier clan, it’s a story of men. Relations with his main accuser, Julien Fournier, having become strained over the course of matches, training sessions and transfer windows. “We were able to demonstrate the manipulation and instrumentalization of certain remarks with the desire to harm the man and the professional reputation of Christophe Galtier,” says his second lawyer, Me Olivier Martin, in front of the Nice courthouse. . Licra and the Football League, civil parties in the case, were dismissed.
Protection of a bodyguard
Since the revelation of the affair in RMC’s Afterfoot, Christophe Galtier and his family have lived under the protection of a bodyguard due to a “bombardment of messages and threats”. At the same time, Galtier filed a complaint for slanderous denunciation. What next? “The client is busy on other grounds such as sports fields,” replies Olivier Martin, echoing the sporting metaphor. I don’t think he needs to rehabilitate. His career is still ahead of him. He has all the opportunities. Very big European clubs would still be very happy to have Christophe Galtier on their bench. In Qatar, the match is about to begin.
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