A French court has dismissed Cardiff City's claim for €122 million in compensation in its legal battle with FC Nantes over the death of Emiliano Sala in 2019.
The case was brought before a commercial court in Nantes in 2023, with Cardiff seeking damages for financial losses incurred due to Sala's tragic passing.
In its ruling, the court mandated Cardiff to pay €300,000 in moral damages to Nantes as part of the decision.
Emiliano Sala, aged 28, lost his life when the light aircraft transporting him to Cardiff crashed in the English Channel on January 21, 2019, just two days post his transfer. The pilot, David Ibbotson, was also killed in the incident.
Cardiff's internal assessments had projected losses of €122 million stemming from Sala's death. Since that incident, the club has fallen from the Premier League and currently competes in the third tier of English football.
Celine Jones, the lawyer representing Cardiff, stated that the purpose of the lawsuit was to uncover the truths surrounding the incident and to honor Sala's memory.
"We are deeply disappointed that the standards of transparency, integrity, and safety that should guide professional football were not upheld by this ruling," she expressed.
Nantes welcomed the court's decision, with their lawyer Jerome Marsaudon asserting that the club bore no responsibility for the tragedy.
"We are satisfied that the court carefully listened to our arguments and reaffirmed this in unequivocal terms," he indicated.
Cardiff had contended that Nantes had coordinated the private flight through agent Willie McKay. However, prior judgments had already clarified several points concerning the transfer process.
In 2022, the Court of Arbitration for Sport confirmed that Sala's transfer had been finalized before his unfortunate death. Furthermore, FIFA instructed Cardiff in 2023 to settle the outstanding portion of the transfer fee, which amounted to just over €11 million from the total €17 million deal.
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