Ligue 1’s sixth-place side Rennes will travel to Nice on Saturday afternoon, as they look to stay in touch in the race for Europe. For the Bretons’ striker Amine Gouiri (23), it will be a chance to take on his former Nice teammates. The forward spent two seasons at the Allianz Riviera, scoring 28 goals in 88 games, before agreeing a five-year contract with Les Rouge et Noir over a €28m transfer fee last summer.
Last season, the former Lyon youth product’s coach was Christophe Galtier. The current PSG boss allegedly held discriminatory remarks during his sole season as Les Aiglons’ boss, according to a leaked mail attributed to Julien Fournier, the club’s former Sporting director. Galtier has denied the allegations and launched legal proceedings against Fournier and the journalists who first reported on the email.
A preliminary investigation is underway and Nice’s headquarters were searched by police to recover said mail and verify its contents. Gouiri was asked about the topic during his pre-game post conference attended by RMC Sport. When asked whether he was surprised by the serious allegations against Galtier, the Rennes player was somewhat elusive: “I’m focusing on the Nice game. And I won’t answer your question.”
Gouiri went on to say that he doesn’t know whether he would speak to police about what happened at Nice last season. “Maybe I won’t answer to the investigators, because I don’t want to be disturbed. I don’t pick up for unknown callers over the phone as well. What if I receive a letter? I’d throw it in the bin.” Gouiri then echoed the current Les Aiglons manager’s sentiment, indicating that he would welcome a light being shed on the events that occurred last season at Nice. “But as coach [Didier] Digard said it very well, the truth will come out. So you’ll see for yourself.”
GFFN | Bastien Cheval
