Emiliano Sala: Cardiff City appeal after being told to pay 拢5.3m instalment for striker killed in plane crash
The club says it isn't liable because Sala was not officially their player when he died and the deal is "null and void".
Wednesday 2 October 2019 12:33, UK
Cardiff City have said they will appeal to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) after FIFA told them they must pay the transfer fee they agreed for Emiliano Sala.
The Argentinian striker died in a plane crash in January, two days after signing for the then-Premier League club, but before he had made his debut.
On Monday, world football's governing body FIFA ordered the Welsh club, now playing in the Championship, to pay French club Nantes the €17 million (£15m) fee they agreed for the player, starting with the overdue first instalment of €6m (£5.3m).
Cardiff have so far refused to make any payment after the light aircraft crashed into the Channel near Guernsey, killing Sala, 28, who was their record signing, and pilot Dave Ibbotson.
The Bluebirds said they were not liable for any of the full fee because Sala was not officially their player when he died.
The club claimed their contract with him was not legally binding and that it had been rejected by the Premier League for breaking signing-on fee rules.
Investigators believe may have died because of carbon monoxide poisoning, and Ibbotson, 59, was likely to have been similarly exposed to the gas leaking into the plane, although his body has never been found.
A Cardiff spokesman said the club are "extremely disappointed at the decision of [FIFA's] Players Status Committee to award against the club," accusing it of focusing on "a narrow aspect of the overall dispute", rather than its full presentation.
He said: "Nevertheless there remains clear evidence that the transfer agreement was never completed in accordance with multiple contractual requirements which were requested by Nantes, thereby rendering it null and void.
"We shall be appealing to CAS in order to seek a decision which considers all of the relevant contractual information and provides clarity on the full legal situation between our two clubs.
"This is a complex matter, which includes ongoing civil and criminal considerations both in the UK and abroad, which will likely have an impact on the validity of the transfer.
It is therefore vital that a comprehensive judgement is reached following a full assessment and review of the facts."
Earlier this month, a man and a woman were jailed for illegally accessing footage of Sala's .