Emiliano Sala: Nantes to wear Argentina colours to mark a year since player's death
The French club will swap its yellow and green kit for blue and white because it was Sala's "dream" to play for his national team.
Tuesday 21 January 2020 22:13, UK
FC Nantes will wear a commemorative kit this weekend to mark the first anniversary of the death of Emiliano Sala.
The French club, which usually wears yellow and green, will instead be sporting a blue and white kit for Sunday's league match against Bordeaux to represent the striker's home country of Argentina.
It said the decision was made because Sala had "dreamed of wearing the jersey of the Argentine selection" and was "a way of paying homage to him".
The special kit can also be purchased though the club's official store and all profits will be sent to the star's two training clubs in Argentina.
On the pitch at Stade de la Beaujoire, a picture of Sala will be placed in the centre circle while a minute's applause marks his memory.
The 28-year-old, who played for the French side for four years, was killed in a light aircraft crash over the Channel last year.
He had been travelling to join Cardiff - his new club, where he had just signed.
Sala's body was recovered from the sea two weeks later, but the body of the pilot - David Ibbotson - has never been found.
Nantes and Cardiff have been embroiled in a dispute over transfer fee payments in the year since the Argentine's death.
But FIFA have since ruled in favour of Nantes and have ordered Cardiff pay €6m (£5.3m) as a first payment for the player.
It has also been threatened with a transfer ban of three trading windows if it doesn't pay when the case is settled.