Nantes mull legal action over Sala transfer fee
NANTES,FRANCE:NANTES have consulted lawyers to explore legal options to ensure Cardiff City pay the transfer fee for Emiliano Sala, a source close to the French club revealed on Wednesday.
Sala, 28, was travelling from France to join up with his new Premier League club in a light aircraft on January 21 when it went missing close to the Channel Islands. According to the source, the first instalment of the €17-million ($19.3 million) deal for the Argentine striker has yet to be paid, despite the transfer being finalised before the accident.
Nantes would also consider taking the case to FIFA, the source added. The club has not yet responded to a request for comment by AFP.
According to BBC Wales, Nantes have given Cardiff a 10-day ultimatum over the first payment of between five and six million euros. A source at Cardiff said that the Welsh club will honour the contract but only once they have clarified “all the facts”.
Cardiff are said to be “surprised” with the timing of the demand so soon after the tragedy. There appears to be considerable tension between the clubs. Regional newspaper Ouestfrance quoted an anonymous source at Nantes calling Cardiff’s attitude “hypocritical”, accusing them of “wanting to buy time”.
Sala, who signed a three-and-ahalf year deal with Cardiff, was the club’s record signing.
The two clubs had agreed on a payout in three instalments. Sala’s former club Bordeaux who sold the Argentinian to Nantes in 2015, is entitled to receive half of the total fee.
RECOVERED BODY ARRIVES IN BRITAIN
PORTLAND,UNITEDKINGDOM: Investigators recovered a body underwater from the wreckage of a plane carrying Argentine footballer Emiliano Sala in the Channel and transported it to the British mainland on Thursday for identification. Britain’s Air Accidents Investigation Branch (AAIB) said that bad weather meant they were unable to recover the plane and as a result it was closing down the operation.
The light aircraft was carrying the 28-year-old footballer to his new Premier League team Cardiff City when it disappeared near the British island of Guernsey on January 21, along with 59-yearold pilot David Ibbotson.
His disappearance prompted an outpouring of grief across the footballing world, including at his former club Nantes in France where the plane was flying from.
After search operations were suspended, a shipwreck hunter hired by Sala’s family with funds donated by football stars such as Lionel Messi found the wreckage on Sunday.
The body was taken to Portland Harbour in southern England on board the Geo Ocean III offshore supply ship.
It was then stretchered into a silver van, with Dorset Police confirming it had “left the boat and left the port”, before being taken to a nearby mortuary for identification and a post-mortem.
“This morning... the body was brought to Portland Port, Dorset, as this is the nearest part of the British mainland to where the plane was located,” said the police statement.
“While formal identification is yet to take place, the families of Emiliano Sala and David Ibbotson have been updated.”
The AAIB, who took over the operation, had on Monday confirmed that an unidentified body had been found at the site.
“In challenging conditions, the AAIB and its specialist contractors successfully recovered the body previously seen amidst the wreckage. The operation was carried out in as dignified a way as possible,” it said.