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PSG’s Mbappé, coach under fire for laughing off question over private jet use

Paris, Sep 6 (EFE).- Paris Saint-Germain star Kylian Mbappé and head coach Christophe Galtier have come under strong criticism for laughing off a suggestion that the team should replace its use of heavily polluting private jets for short-haul trips with train journeys.

The debate around the topic gained traction after Alain Krakovitch, the head of high-speed trains at France’s state rail firm SNCF, commented on the Qatar-owned club’s decision to fly its players and staff by private jet to Nantes over the weekend, a journey under 400 kilometers.

“Paris-Nantes is less than two hours on TGV inOui,” he tweeted Sunday, a day after PSG’s 3-0 Ligue 1 victory at FC Nantes, along with a video taken from Marco Veratti’s social media, which showed players Neymar Jr. and Marquinhos onboard the jet.

When pressed on the issue by a reporter during a Monday press conference ahead of PSG’s Champions League tie with Juventus, Mbappé and Galtier struggled to stifle their laughter.

“Pardon me,” Galtier responded. “I thought we would have this question. To be honest, this morning we have spoken with the company that organizes our trips, we’re looking into whether we can go by sand-yacht,” he added.

The flippant response was met with criticism on social media and from government officials in France.

The French finance minister Bruno Le Maire broached the issue during an interview with BFMTV on Tuesday.

“It was the most inopportune moment to laugh,” he said. “I think we all have to take climate change seriously,” he added.

PSG is owned by Qatar Sports Investments and the team’s official kit is sponsored by Qatar Airways.EFE

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