More than three and a half years after the tragic death of Argentine footballer Emiliano Sala, Cardiff City has had to pay six million euros to his former club FC Nantes. The International Sports Court in Lausanne has now confirmed a corresponding decision by the world association Fifa in a judgment, the Cas announced.
The Welsh club from the second English division has thus failed in its appeal against Fifa’s decision in December 2019, according to which Cardiff must pay at least the first installment of six million euros.
Cardiff and Nantes agreed in January 2019 on a transfer fee of 17 million euros for Sala. The then 28-year-old footballer crashed and died two days after the transfer was announced on January 21, 2019 on his way to Wales.
Cardiff therefore did not feel obliged to pay the money to the French club because Sala was not yet registered with his new club at the time of his death. From Cardiff’s point of view, the transfer contract was therefore not yet complete and therefore invalid. In the final instance, the Cas did not agree with this view. The panel is convinced that the transfer was fully completed by the time of Sala’s death.
A businessman who had organized the flight with the single-engine aircraft was subsequently sentenced to 18 months in prison for endangering the safety of an aircraft.
The Aviation Accident Investigation Board (AAIB) confirmed that the pilot, David Ibbotson, did not hold a license to fly this particular aircraft, nor was he allowed to fly at night when the accident occurred. In addition, the 59-year-old pilot completed an unauthorized commercial flight and received an undisclosed amount of money, which is illegal.
According to investigators, it is likely that he suffered from carbon monoxide poisoning. An interim report had also found this in Sala. According to investigators, the plane hit the water at a speed of 435 kilometers per hour. Nobody could survive the impact.
