A short flight by the Paris St. Germain team and how the criticism was dealt with angered France’s Sports Minister Amélie Oudéa-Castéra. PSG coach Christophe Galtier reacted ironically to the question why the French champions had flown to the game in Nantes instead of traveling by train at the press conference for the Champions League opener against Juventus Turin on Monday evening.
“Mr Galtier, we are used to more relevant and responsible answers from you – should we talk about it?” wrote the French sports minister on Twitter. Paris Mayor Anne Hidalgo urged PSG to “wake up” and demanded a more serious approach to the issue.
Galtier previously said he expected such a question and snippyly replied that they would be in touch with the company that organizes PSG’s trips to use “a sand yacht” next time. Star striker Kylian Mbappé burst out laughing when asked for a quick look from Galtier.
The journey to Nantes, around 380 kilometers from Paris, takes about two hours on the TGV high-speed train. The head of the company, Alain Krakovitch, had pointed this out. The club justified the short flight by saying that after the 3-0 win on Saturday evening, the return journey was still possible, unlike with the TGV.
However, Krakovitch renewed his proposal to adapt the use of the trains to the special needs. PSG said they take the issue very seriously. The best option would be examined for each of the approximately 25 away games per season.