French football club Paris St Germain coach Christophe Galtier and his son have been arrested for questioning as part of an investigation into alleged racism, AFP news agency reported on Friday citing a French prosecutor.
PSG did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Galtier and his son, John Valovic-Galtier, were placed in custody for questioning on Friday morning, Nice’s prosecutor Xavier Bonhomme said.
Galtier, who is on his way out at PSG but still under contract, denied accusations that he made racist and anti-Muslim comments when he was in charge of French club Nice earlier this year.
RMC Sport and other French media published reports quoting a leaked email from former Nice director of football Julien Fournier to the club’s owners, Ineos, in which he accused Galtier of saying there were too many Black and Muslim players in the squad.
Galtier said he felt hurt “at the deepest level” of his humanity by the accusations and has taken legal action.
Bonhomme said at the time that a preliminary investigation had been opened into “discrimination on the grounds of alleged race or religion.” He said it was being handled by Nice police with searches of the club’s headquarters.
PSG head of communications Julien Maynard said “serious allegations” had been made against Galtier and that the club fully supported him.
