Cardiff City have lost another battle in their judicial feud with FC Nantes over the transfer fee case of the late Emiliano Sala. Sala died in a plane crash near Guernsey on January 21, 2019. The plane’s pilot, David Ibbotson, has never been found. The payment of the Argentine striker’s €17m transfer fee is at the heart of a bitter conflict between the two clubs. The Welsh outfit have denied the authenticity of the transfer agreement. However, FIFA’s player status commission have ordered Cardiff City to pay the first instalment of the transfer worth €6m. The Court of Arbitration for Sport have then rejected the appeal lodged by the Championship side to challenge the aforementioned decision.
Now, the Lausanne Federal Court, the supreme judicial authority of the Swiss Confederation, have also rejected the appeal made by Cardiff City. The Bluebirds have been sentenced to pay €48k worth of legal costs as well as a €52.8k compensation to FC Nantes, on top of the disputed €6m instalment. “We are obviously satisfied with this decision, but we regret the obstinacy shown by the Cardiff club to escape their obligations since [this] tragic accident“, assessed the French club’s lawyers Jérôme Marsaudon and Louis-Marie Absil when speaking to L’Equipe.
However, Cardiff City will continue to seek damages and compensation from FC Nantes. The Welsh club have released a statement that reveals that they have prepared a separate legal action which will be started straightaway “as FC Nantes must be held responsible for the accident organised by their agent.” An investigation has indeed been opened in France following a complaint from Cardiff City’s lawyers. The legal proceeding relates in particular to the role of the player’s agents Willie McKay, Bakari Sanogo and Baba Dramé in the organisation of the tragic flight.
GFFN | Bastien Cheval
