The criticism comes after French giants Paris Saint-Germain opted to travel to Nantes away on a private plane instead of taking the two-hour high-speed train.

Following the decision, they came under criticism from several people, including French rail company SNCF.

The topic was also brought up at the press conference before PSG’s Champions League match against Juventus. Super striker Kylian Mbappe and coach Christophe Galtier sat there. What was revealed when the two were asked about the private plane had stirred reactions.

After the question was asked, Gaultier turned to Mbappé, before they both reacted by bursting into laughter. After a few seconds of silence, Gaultier came up with an answer that was almost sarcasm.

– I knew this question would come. To be honest, this morning we spoke with the company that organizes our tour and we are looking into the possibility of traveling by land.

French politician reacts

Now some French politicians are criticizing the duo for their performance at the press conference.

– Gaultier, we are used to more relevant and responsible answers from you. Should we chat about this? asked French Sports Minister Amélie Oudéa-Castéra on Twitter.

The mayor of Paris, Anne Hildalgo, also reacted strongly.

– No, it’s not good to answer things like this. Wake up guys. This is Paris, wrote Hidalgo.

When asked by the AP news agency when criticism came over the weekend, PSG replied that there were no high-speed trains in the evening after the game against Nantes, and so they took flights.

A spokesman also said that PSG “absolutely does not rule out taking the train if all conditions are met” and that they have held talks with French rail company SNCF.

– Embarrassing

– It’s disappointing, but most importantly embarrassing. They confirm all the alleged ignorance modern top football has, says NRK sports commentator Jan Petter Saltvedt.

He reacted strongly to the fact that representatives of PSG, the club owned by the emir of Qatar, chose to react in this way to critical questions.

– These are the same people who receive billions from fossil giant assets in countries that don’t even care to respect human rights. And obviously it doesn’t care one bit about the world’s climate challenges that can be ignored.

Norway national team player Morten Thorsby has been working for several years to get the world of football to take climate issues seriously. Saltvedt believes that this will not make his job any easier.

“Perhaps no one envied Thorsby’s task of convincing his football team-mates of the importance of role models who demonstrate commitment to today’s biggest challenges when you see performances like these,” said Saltvedt.