The French soccer champions Paris St. Germain and his coach Christophe Galtier have come under fire for a controversial short-haul flight and how to deal with the criticism.

Galtier reacted ironically on Monday evening at the press conference for the Champions League opener against Juventus Turin when asked why the French champions had flown to the game in Nantes instead of traveling by train.

"Mr Galtier, we are used to more relevant and responsible answers from you - should we talk about it?" French Sport Minister Amélie Oudéa-Castéra wrote on Twitter.

Paris Mayor Anne Hidalgo urged PSG to "wake up" and demanded a more serious approach to the issue.

Club justifies itself

Galtier previously said he expected such a question and replied that they would be in touch with the company that organizes the PSG team's trips about using 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.

Criticism of Lionel Messi

Just last week, environmental activists targeted PSG superstar Lionel Messi for using his private jet.

With 52 private flights from June to August, this would have caused carbon dioxide emissions of more than 1,500 tons and thus more than an average Frenchman in 150 years, the Attac organization accused the Argentine.

PSG is not the first football team to be criticized for polluting travel habits.

At the end of 2020, the German national team also had to put up with reproaches for a flight from Stuttgart to Basel, a year ago the English record champions Manchester United fell out of favor with environmentalists after a 15-minute flight to an away game at Leicester City 120 kilometers away.