French court dismisses Cardiff’s lawsuit over Emiliano Sala’s death

PARIS. — The Nantes Commercial Court dismissed the lawsuit filed by Cardiff City, which claimed 122.2 million euros from FC Nantes for damages arising from the death of Argentine footballer Emiliano Sala, who died in a plane crash in January 2019.

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The Welsh club argued that the loss of the player, who never debuted with the team after being signed, influenced their relegation to the English second division that same year, which led to a sharp drop in their income. The amount claimed was based on an estimate of points and goals that the striker would have contributed to the team. Sala, 28 years old, died on January 21, 2019, when the private plane he was traveling in crashed from France to Wales to join Cardiff, who had agreed to pay 17 million euros to Nantes for his transfer. Cardiff also tried to get the French court to recognize Nantes’ responsibility for the involvement of intermediary Willie McKay in the operation, who organized the private flight in which various irregularities were detected. However, the court rejected this argument. This ruling represents a new setback for the Welsh club, which had already lost previously to FIFA and the Court of Arbitration for Sport, bodies that ruled in favor of Nantes and recognized their right to receive the transfer payment. Cardiff has already paid approximately half of the 17 million euros agreed upon for the transfer.