Cardiff City denies claim it 'abandoned' striker Emiliano Sala
The Welsh side insists it offered the striker a commercial flight back to the UK - one which he turned down.
Friday 1 March 2019 13:50, UK
Cardiff City has denied claims it failed to offer Emiliano Sala suitable travel arrangements before his ill-fated flight to the UK.
The 28-year-old Argentinian died, along with pilot David Ibbotson, when the Piper Malibu aircraft they were travelling in came down in the English Channel on 21 January, two days after Welsh club made him their record signing.
In a statement the club said: "Cardiff City FC strongly rejects the claim that it neglected to provide Mr Sala with travel arrangements.
"Our club was in the process of organising a commercial flight for Mr Sala until this offer was declined owing to separate arrangements being made - the planning and specifics of which Cardiff was not privy to.
"Cardiff has serious concerns over the potential unlawfulness of the journey following information that has been released. Clearly more answers as to the details surrounding this terrible tragedy are required."
It follows an interview with former football agent Willie McKay, in which he claimed he and his son Mark were being made scapegoats for the crash.
He told BBC Sport: "He was abandoned in a hotel more or less to do his travel arrangements himself, nobody at Cardiff seemed to be doing anything.
"It was a bit embarrassing from Cardiff's situation because they had a player that was worth €17million and then left him to sort a hotel for himself and go on the computer and look for a flight himself. I think Cardiff let themselves down badly."
Mr McKay helped broker the £15m deal and arranged the flight while his son acted as the agent for selling club Nantes.
A series of leaked WhatsApp messages, published by Ouest-France, appeared to back up Cardiff's explanation.
They show a Cardiff player liaison officer offering a commercial flight to Sala - which he declined saying he had already sorted another flight through Mr McKay.
Meanwhile, Nantes have lodged a complaint with FIFA over Cardiff's refusal to pay the first instalment of Sala's transfer fee.
The Welsh club said it remained "committed to ensuring fairness and accountability" over the deal, but insisted "the facts surrounding this tragedy" had first to be established.