Paris Saint Germain (PSG) manager Christophe Galtier along with his son was arrested for investigation into racism and islamophobia allegations on Friday in Nice, France.
The Qatari-owned club is yet to give any statement on the matter.
The arrest happened after an investigation was initiated in April, following the racist and Islamophobic comments that were passed by the Frenchman when he was coaching OGC Nice in the 2021-22 season.
According to a leaked email of Nice’s former director of football Julien Fournier, Galtier was accused by Fournier of saying there were “too many black and Muslim players” on the club’s squad.
“He [Galtier] told me that I should take into account the reality of the city and that, in effect, we should not have as many blacks and Muslims on the team,” Fournier, whose relationship with Galtier was strained, claimed.
“He told me he wanted to profoundly change the team’s make-up and limit the maximum number of Muslims,” he added.
Galtier also allegedly grumbled about his squad, saying that they are a "team of scum", where there are "only blacks" and "half the team go to the mosque on Friday".
However, in April, right after the investigation was launched, the Frenchman’s lawyer denied all accusations calling him a racist and an Islamophobic saying that he felt “hurt” by the accusations.
“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.
The PSG coach launched a defamation suit of his own against Fournier and the journalist who published his claims.
The 56-year-old led PSG to another French league title, which comes as no surprise, but the French club was eliminated early in the Champions League and the French Cup by rival Marseille this season.
Galtier has one year left on his contract but PSG has reportedly been holding talks with Luis Enrique to officially replace him in the coming days.