Speaking ahead of tonight’s Coupe de France semi-final against Versailles, Nice manager Christophe Galtier notably opposed the idea of boycotting Monaco in the wake of Russia’s large-scale invasion of Ukraine.
His words transcribed in RMC Sport, last year’s title-winning manager explained that it made “no sense” to sanction the club, owned by Russian oligarch Dmitry Rybolovlev.
Rybolovlev is owner and club president, and has placed several of his compatriots in important positions at the principality, notably Oleg Petrov as vice-president general director.
“I have no problem with facing Monaco. We have a duty to show support to the people of Ukraine, to Ukrainian athletes, and more specifically to footballers and managers, but we can’t blame everyone who has Russian citizenship.”