Emiliano Sala: Cardiff City lose appeal in payment dispute with Nantes
- Published
Emiliano Sala was with Bordeaux prior to his move to Nantes in 2015
Cardiff City have lost their appeal against a ruling by Fifa to pay the first instalment of Emiliano Sala's £15m transfer fee to Nantes.
Argentine striker Sala died in a plane crash over the English channel in January 2019 while travelling from France to join his new club.
A three-man panel at the Court of Arbitration for Sport (Cas) heard the appeal in Lausanne earlier this year.
Cardiff must now pay the first instalment of £5.3m to Nantes.
In response to the Cas ruling, the Bluebirds said: "Cardiff City is disappointed by the decision of the Court of Arbitration in Sport.
"The award fails to decide the crucial question of FC Nantes' (and its agents') liability for the crash, which will therefore have to be decided in another forum.
"Once the club's lawyers have digested the reasons for the decision we expect to appeal and will not be making any payments to FC Nantes in the meanwhile.
"If those appeals are unsuccessful and the club is liable to pay the transfer fee, the club will take legal action against those responsible for the crash for damages to recover its losses. This will include FC Nantes, and its agents.
"All our thoughts must continue to be with Emiliano's family, who are now supported financially by the trust the club put in place for them."
In a statement following its decision to dismiss Cardiff's appeal, Cas said: "After taking into due consideration all the evidence produced and all the arguments put forward by both clubs, the Cas panel found the player's transfer from FC Nantes to Cardiff City FC to have been completed.
"And because the conditions set out in the transfer agreement were fulfilled prior to the player's death, FC Nantes' claim for the first instalment of the transfer fee in the amount of 6m euros was upheld."
Nantes then released a statement, saying: "FC Nantes welcomes the decision rendered today on appeal by the Court of Arbitration for Sport.
"The Cas has completely rejected the appeal lodged by Cardiff City and has confirmed the decision rendered by Fifa on 25 September 2019 concerning the transfer of player Emiliano Sala.
"The court therefore ruled, as FC Nantes [FCN] had argued since the start of the proceedings, that the player's transfer to Cardiff City was over when he died tragically in an aviation accident.
"Consequently, the Cas ordered Cardiff City to pay the transfer fee to FC Nantes and sentenced Cardiff to a historically high sum, in respect of procedural costs and arbitration costs.
"FC Nantes is delighted that this procedure - initiated by Cardiff City then delayed on numerous occasions by Cardiff City - which has been difficult for all those close to Emiliano, is finally over.
"The club hopes that this will mark the end of the public misinformation campaign, which the FCN has never reacted to, out of respect for the player's family."
Cardiff claimed they were not liable for any of the fee because Sala, 28, was not officially their player when he died and refused to make interim payments as they claimed the deal was not legally binding.
World football's governing body Fifa ruled Cardiff should pay the first instalment of £5.3m to Nantes.
Fifa's players' status committee also imposed a three-window transfer ban on the Championship club if they failed to pay.
After Fifa found against them, Cardiff appealed to Cas. Following a number of delays, the hearing was held in March.