Julien Fournier confirms writing incriminating Christophe Galtier email: “It was a way of protecting myself.”

Former OGC Nice Sporting Director Julien Fournier has evoked the Christophe Galtier affair during a wide-ranging interview with Nice-Matin, during which he confirms writing the email that incriminated now-former Paris Saint-Germain manager Christophe Galtier. 

Galtier, as well as his son John Valovic, were accused of racist remarks, dating back to the Frenchman’s time as Nice manager during the 2021/22 season. The revelations were leaked in a purported email from Fournier, who brought Galtier to the Allianz Riviera. The pair left the club in the summer of 2022. 

Since, a criminal investigation has been launched and Galtier and his son were taken into police custody at the end of June, as reported by Le Parisien. Fournier, who has previously criticised the leak, has now confirmed that he is indeed the author of the email. 

Asked if he wrote the email, the existence of which was first reported by Romain Molina, Fournier responded, “Yes. Everyone knows it, including the justice system which has investigated it. What people don’t know is why I wrote this email. It was written in May 2022 and therefore well before it was leaked in the media,” he began. 

The former Nice sporting director was then asked if he was asked to write the email, to which he replied, “It’s more than that. Some people at the club, who were aware of everything that was happening, reproached me for covering up these things. By the way, I was completely against these subjects (with Galtier) for the whole season. So it was a double penalty. The club suffered from it, and suffered the consequences throughout the year, without it being known. In the end, I was reproached for having not denounced it. I hadn’t supported it. In a private setting, I addressed this