Cardiff appeal £100m Emiliano Sala ruling seven years after footballer's death

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FT Desk

Cardiff have appealed a court decision dismissing the club's claim for £100 million in compensation following the death of Emiliano Sala seven years ago.

In 2019, the Argentine striker had completed what was then Cardiff's record £15m signing before returning to France to say goodbye to his former teammates. On 21 January, he boarded a privately arranged flight from Nantes to Cardiff, but the plane disappeared from radar as it crossed the English Channel near Alderney.

After an initial search by the UK and French authorities was called off, Sala's family launched a crowdfunding campaign to pay for a private search. The wreckage of the aircraft was eventually found on the seabed, and Sala's body was recovered in early February. The pilot, David Ibbotson, was never found.

An investigation later found that the pilot lost control of the aircraft during the flight. It also concluded that carbon monoxide had leaked into the cabin, with both the pilot and Sala exposed to dangerous levels of the gas before the crash.

Sala's death shocked the football world, prompting tributes from clubs, players and fans across the globe. It also sparked a long-running legal battle over his transfer fee between Cardiff City and Nantes.

Investigators later established that the flight had been operating without the required licence. In October 2021, the aircraft's organiser, David Henderson, was convicted of endangering the safety of an aircraft and jailed for 18 months.

Why are Cardiff seeking compensation?

Sala never played a second of football for Cardiff so the club were initially seeking compensation from Nantes for his transfer fee. In the immediate aftermath, Cardiff refused to pay an instalment for the transfer but were eventually ordered to do so by FIFA.

The claim eventually went as high as £100m as the club believed that their record signing at the time would have given the team the boost it needed to avoid relegation from the Premier League, which happened that season.

That figure was generated by factors such as loss of income from staying in the top flight.

In March, a court dismissed the claim and actually ordered Cardiff club to pay about £400,000 in legal fees and moral damages suffered by Nantes.

Celine Jones, of Capital Law, said at the time the firm "deeply regrets" that the court didn't accept Cardiff's compensation claim.

"We initiated these proceedings so that the full truth of this case would come to light in respect of Emiliano Sala's memory," she said.

Several months later, Cardiff have lodged an appeal on that decision so the situation remains unresolved for now.