Court Rejects Cardiff City's Appeal Over Transfer Fee Of Emiliano Sala, Who Died In Plane Crash

The Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) on Friday dismissed an appeal by Cardiff against having to pay the first instalment of the transfer fee for Argentine footballer Emiliano Sala, who died in a plane accident en route to his new club. CAS threw out the appeal filed by the former English Premier League side against French club Nantes, after being ordered to pay six million euros ($6 million). The proceedings only concerned the first instalment of the 17-million-euro total transfer fee.

Flown by pilot David Ibbotson, the small plane carrying the 28-year-old striker came down in the Channel en route to Cardiff on January 21, 2019, two days after signing for the Bluebirds.

Lausanne-based CAS confirmed that Sala's transfer had been fully completed prior to his death.

While Nantes welcomed the ruling, Cardiff said they expected to appeal against the decision and would not be paying anything in the meantime.

In September 2019, the Bureau of the FIFA Players' Status Committee ordered Cardiff to pay the first part of the transfer fee.

Cardiff appealed to CAS over the decision in November 2019. The parties requested the hearing be held in person, which was not possible before the end of 2021.

The hearings took place on March 3 and 4 this year.

"After taking into due consideration all the evidence produced and all the arguments put forward by both clubs, the CAS panel found the player's transfer from FC Nantes to Cardiff City FC to have been completed," CAS said in its decision.

"Because the conditions set out in the transfer agreement were fulfilled prior to the player's death, FC Nantes' claim for the first instalment of the transfer fee in the amount of six million euros was upheld."

The CAS panel also confirmed that it was