Cardiff ordered to pay £5m Sala transfer fee following Fifa probe

Cardiff City are set to be billed the entire £15 million transfer fee for Emiliano Sala after Fifa threw out an attempt to avoid paying a first instalment after his plane crash.

The Welsh club, locked in a legal dispute with FC Nantes since the tragedy in January, are now seeking clarification from the governing body before deciding whether to appeal at the Court of Arbitration for Sport. Fifa, which has been investigating after Nantes made a formal complaint, ruled that Cardiff must initially pay a fee of €6million (£5.3 million), “corresponding to the first instalment due”.

Sources close to the governing body said the club would eventually be liable to pay the entire fee, but Cardiff expressed confusion over whether the initial demand was the final bill.

Sala, 28, had been the man earmarked Tragic: Cardiff City signing Emiliano Sala was killed in a plane crash in January by manager Neil Warnock to ensure the then Premier League strugglers avoided relegation. He was announced by Cardiff, now in the Championship, two days before he died on Jan 21. The striker was on the return leg of a visit to France when the Piper Malibu N264DB, unlicensed for commercial flying, crashed.

Recriminations over the crash still linger between Cardiff, Nantes and Willie Mckay, the unlicensed intermediary who admits making arrangements for the flight.

Cardiff have claimed Sala was not officially their player when he died, because the Premier League had rejected certain clauses requested by Nantes in the original contract. Sala never signed the final version. However, the Fifa’s Players’ Status Committee ruled yesterday in favour of Nantes, who demanded payment for the first instalment. “Cardiff City FC and FC Nantes can request a copy of the grounds of the decision, which can be appealed to the Court of Arbitration for Sport in Lausanne,” Fifa said.

The governing body refused to confirm whether Cardiff would eventually be hit with the £15million fee outlined in the contract.