“I do not accept that we go to a player’s home” – Christophe Galtier condemns PSG fan outrage towards Neymar
Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) coach Christophe Galtier has condemned the club's fans for protesting outside Neymar’s house.
Earlier this week, fans of the Ligue 1 giants held protests at the club’s headquarters and outside Neymar’s house, where they called for the board to resign and criticized the players.
Videos emerged on social media that showed a group of supporters visiting Neymar's home and calling for him to leave the club. Galtier, in a press conference ahead of PSG's Ligue clash with Troyes, has called for fans to respect players' privacy and not confront them at their homes.
The manager said (via PSG Report):
“Regarding the meeting in front of a player’s home, you have to be careful about that and privacy remains privacy. I can understand the anger, the disappointment of our supporters, the demonstration in front of the headquarters, but I do not accept that we go to a player’s home.”
When asked if the protests could lead Neymar to seek new pastures when the summer transfer market opens, Galtier said:
“Will we see Neymar again [at PSG] next season? I’m very focused on our last five games and we’ll see what happens next season.”
Neymar scored 18 goals and provided 17 assists in 29 games across competitions this season before an injury ended his campaign prematurely.
"Not the best of ideas" - PSG ultras chief criticizes fans for protesting in front of Neymar's house
Paris Saint-Germain ultras chief Romain Mabille has expressed his disapproval of the club's fans deciding to protest outside Neymar's house. Mabille stated that their actions discredited other fans' voices, saying (via L'Equipe):
“I don’t support what happened. It’s not a CUP action; the group doesn’t claim responsibility for it, nor is it behind it. It was definitely avoidable. To go to his place, it’s not the best of ideas. [Lionel] Messi is going to leave and we just wanted to let Neymar know that it would be good for him to leave too.”
He added:
“We don’t want to hurt him. We just want him to carry on his career far away from Paris. We want to move on to a new era. He’s part of a time where players get to do what they want. We want to move on and write a new page with players who show desire.”
PSG also issued a statement reprimanding the fans for their behavior. It read:
“Paris Saint-Germain most strongly condemns the intolerable and insulting actions of a small group of individuals that took place on Wednesday. Whatever the differences of opinion, nothing justifies such actions. The club gives its full support to its players, its staff and all those targeted by such shameful behavior.”