Friday morning saw storm clouds looming over Paris Saint-Germain with their first-team coach, Christophe Galtier, taken into police custody after past accusations of racism while he was with another club resurfaced.
With the French champions currently in the process of replacing Galtier with Spaniard Luis Enrique, the ensuing media storm is a distraction that PSG can certainly dispense with.
According to The Athletic, the issue that has currently resurfaced is about the time when Galtier was coach of OGC Nice, a team owned by Ineos boss Sir Jim Ratcliffe, where Galtier and his agent son, John-Valovic Galtier, have been accused of using racist, insulting and discriminatory remarks about Nice’s own players.
It has been reported also that Galtier has rubbished the accusations and has responded by filing a legal complaint.
If proven guilty, the 56-year-old may encounter difficulties getting a senior job in the game again in future. Meanwhile, his next movements are still largely unclear. Despite PSG eventually having wrested again the Ligue 1 title under him, the club owners are allegedly not satisfied with his performance as the Parisian club once again lost out on their Champions League ambitions.
Replacing Galtier with Luis Enrique will certainly serve to rock the boat a bit at the Parc des Princes because the Spaniard is reputed to not gladly suffer fools while also not caring much for reputations.
Enruque’s strength of character eventually saw the Blaugranas go on to win their second treble.
With the current news about Galtier smudging the French footballing landscape, getting in Luis Enrique quickly is likely to be an absolute priority now for club president Nasser Al-Khelaifi.