If a new hearing takes place, the Nantes club will have to file its documents on November 23, the Welsh club on January 25, 2024 then, on March 21, 2024, if all the documents are deemed “in condition”, a hearing date of pleadings will be fixed, probably before June 2024, we learned during the “statement” hearing on Thursday afternoon.
According to the summons before the commercial court that AFP was able to consult, Cardiff City claims 100 million euros from FC Nantes for the loss of income suffered by the tragic death of the Argentinian, more than seven million euros. euros for the damage suffered related to his transfer and two million euros for the “reputational” damage.
“The sum of 100 million euros corresponds to the loss represented by the passage from Division 1 to Division 2 for the club”, explained to AFP Me Céline Jones, who defends the interests of Cardiff City.
“If Sala had been able to play, he would have necessarily scored between January and June 2019 and Cardiff would have remained in the Premier League. It would be unrealistic to think that he would not have scored any goals,” she added.
Cardiff bases its argument on the fact that FC Nantes is responsible for the tragic flight of Emiliano Sala between Nantes and Cardiff.
“Our position has not changed for four years: it was Nantes which failed in its obligations to monitor its agent, Willie McKay, who organized a private flight for Emiliano Sala, when we had offered him a commercial flight. “, explained the lawyer of the Welsh club.
The lawyers of FC Nantes, Jérôme Marsaudon and Louis-Marie Absil, believe that the club of the Welsh capital is “hardcore in all its procedures”.
“Cardiff has been leading a very offensive and very warlike strategy against FC Nantes since the death of Emiliano Sala”, indicate the latter, recalling that the Welsh club has already been “disavowed by Fifa (player status commission) before fail before the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) and the Swiss Federal Court”.
Argentinian striker Emiliano Sala, 28, died in January 2019 in a plane crash over the English Channel while joining his new club, Cardiff City, to which he had been sold by the FC Nantes.
“Cardiff’s very great imagination has been systematically sanctioned by the courts and we will bring all the legal and factual elements to respond to this umpteenth scheme,” added the lawyers.
They specify that Cardiff has not yet paid FC Nantes the full transfer fee for the Argentine player, which amounted to 17 million euros. According to the lawyers, the club would have paid only the first third of this amount, ie six million euros.
