Cardiff City under transfer embargo over Emiliano Sala fee
- Published
Emiliano Sala had just signed with Cardiff City before the crash
Cardiff City have confirmed they are under a transfer embargo.
The embargo follows Cardiff's failure to pay the first instalment of the £15m transfer fee to French club Nantes for the purchase of Emiliano Sala.
Argentine striker Sala died in a plane crash over the English channel in January 2019 while travelling from France to join his new club.
Chairman Mehmet Dalman says he is "confident" the club will be able to lift the embargo before January.
Cardiff say they are in talks, including with the English Football League [EFL] and world football's governing body Fifa, as they seek to resolve the issue.
"I wish I had the power to lift the shadow of this situation from the club. People at this club want this resolved," Dalman told BBC Radio Wales Sport.
"People should not forget that a 29-year old man was killed when he there was no need for that accident to happen.
"There is a human side to this story, it is not just a financial one."
Cardiff lost their appeal against a ruling by Fifa to pay the first instalment of Sala's £15m transfer fee to Nantes.
A three-man panel at the Court of Arbitration for Sport heard the appeal in Lausanne earlier this year.
Cardiff were told to pay the first instalment of £5.3m to Nantes.
The Bluebirds continue to dispute the money owed and have appealed the CAS hearing to a Swiss Federal Court, which is expected to give its verdict in late January or early February, 2023.
"There are lots of legal discussions going on and they will continue to go on, but we have received our first invoice from Nantes," Dalman said.
"We haven't paid it and at this stage have no intention of paying it, until certain negotiations come to fruition.
"This puts the EFL in a position where they automatically put us under transfer embargo, but until January that is pretty meaningless anyway.
"Until January I am sure there will be other developments. We are working hard to ensure we can do business then."
Dalman admitted he is unable to offer Cardiff fans assurances that the embargo will be lifted by January, a situation that has been relayed to manager Mark Hudson.
Despite signing 17 players in the summer, Cardiff are only a point above the Championship relegation zone.
"Should fans be worried we won't be able to buy anyone in January? Yes and no," Dalman said.
"We certainly would like to add more players, the manager is keen to do that and we've told him to plan accordingly because we believe this is temporary not permanent.
"But of course it is unpredictable."
Dalman added that Hudson was "understanding but "not happy," when told the news.
"I don't know Mark dreadfully well, but he's a professional, he understood our position," he said.
"He didn't necessarily like it. But we have told him to get his targets in place."
Hudson says he is prepared for a possible embargo.
"I trust the players I have got. If we are in an embargo throughout January then this is our team, if not, we will see," he said.
"We've spoken briefly to the players about where we are.
"But I have full faith and trust in this group."
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