Christophe Galtier, the coach of French football club Paris Saint Germain (PSG), and his son have been detained for questioning as part of a probe into alleged discrimination.
The move follows an investigation launched in April, following claims that he made racist and Islamophobic remarks about players when he coached OGC Nice in the 2021-22 season.
A statement from the prosecutor on the arrests of Galtier and his son John Valovic-Galtier – a football agent – is expected later on Friday.
Galtier, 56, is set to be fired by PSG after a largely underwhelming season in which the team suffered 10 defeats in 2023 and got knocked out of the Champions League in the last-16.
The reports of discrimination emerged in April after news outlets quoted a leaked email from Nice’s former director of football, Julien Fournier, in which he accused Galtier of saying that there were “too many Black and Muslim players” in the Nice squad.
“He [Galtier] told me that I should take account of the reality of the city and that in effect we should not have as many blacks and Muslims in the team,” claimed Fournier, whose relationship with Galtier was a fraught one.
“He told me he wanted to profoundly change the team’s make-up and limit the maximum number of Muslims.”
Galtier and Fournier both left Nice last year after working together at the club for one season, with the former being appointed by PSG.
In April, a PSG spokesperson told Al Jazeera that the club was not investigating the allegations.
“The manager informed the club about the allegations and that he is taking legal action, and since this is a legal case now we will not comment on it,” the club’s official said, adding that PSG has a “very strong stance against racism”.
In a statement released by his lawyer to French media, Galtier said in April that he was “stunned to learn of the insulting and defamatory” allegation.
“Given the seriousness of the accusations against him, and which he firmly denies, Christophe Galtier has asked his lawyer to begin without delay the judicial proceedings which are all the more necessary given that, since this came out, he has been the target of intolerable threats and harassment,” the statement said.
He launched a defamation suit of his own against Fournier and the journalist who published his claims.
