Cardiff’s Sala court case against Nantes to begin

A French courtroom on Monday afternoon will be the setting for what could be the final act in the tragic saga of Emiliano Sala.

At a hearing in Nantes, Cardiff City Football Club will argue the case that they are owed more than £100m in damages following the death of a player they believe could have kept them in the Premier League.

It is almost seven years since Sala, a 28-year-old Argentine striker, and pilot David Ibbotson died in a plane crash while travelling over the English Channel to join his new club.

Just days earlier he had been announced as Cardiff City’s record signing after agreeing a £15m deal to join the south Wales club from French side Football Club de Nantes.

There have been bitter accusations and recriminations ever since, including a succession of legal cases, leading to Monday’s hearing at Nantes commercial court – itself having been adjourned from 22 September.

In December 2018, Nantes striker Sala had been identified by Cardiff as a player that could provide the goals to help them in a Premier League relegation struggle.

The following month, on 19 January 2019, a £15m deal between the clubs was announced.

However, two days later as Sala travelled to Cardiff from Nantes, he and pilot Ibbotson died when the plane they were in crashed into the sea near Guernsey.

There has been a dispute between Cardiff and Nantes stretching back to the immediate aftermath of the crash, with the Welsh club initially refusing to pay the first instalment of the transfer fee until investigations into accountability had taken place.

The row eventually led to football world governing body Fifa ordering Cardiff to pay – and the Bluebirds appealing against the decision at the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS).

With CAS upholding Fifa’s ruling, Cardiff paid the first instalment in January 2023 – ending an English Football League (EFL) transfer embargo in the process – and subsequently paid the remaining balance.

But the football club have always maintained they were prepared to take further action and in April 2024 lodged a complaint with Nantes commercial court, seeking damages of 120.2m euros (£104m).

The estimate for damages stems from the claimed financial and reputational losses represented by Cardiff’s relegation from the Premier League in 2019.

Cardiff’s team will present evidence from court-approved experts, including a statistical report compiled by football data company FC Analytics, that the club says shows Sala could have given them as much as a 62% greater chance of staying in the Premier League in that 2018-19 season.

In terms of the amount of damages, the sum Cardiff are seeking is based on independent analysis of the loss of income that followed relegation, the subsequent impact on the club’s overall value, as well as the original transfer fee.

Cardiff’s claim is based on their argument that former football agent Willie McKay was working on behalf of Nantes when he arranged the flight via Henderson.

Sala had been offered a commercial flight by Cardiff to return to Wales but he had wanted more time to say his goodbyes in Nantes.

McKay was not a registered agent and has previously claimed he was helping his son Mark – who was the acting agent in the deal – but did charter the flight.

Nantes have previously denied Willie McKay was working on their behalf.

Cardiff brought civil proceedings against Willie McKay for the disclosure of emails and documents relating to the transfer, with an out-of-court agreement made in February 2024.

Fifa’s ruling that Cardiff should pay the transfer fee was based on the fact that contractually the deal had been completed and so payment was due.

CAS agreed and said it could not take into account other aspects, such as the responsibility for the flight or the potential damages, with a further hearing at the Swiss Federal Tribunal agreeing CAS did not have the jurisdiction.

Cardiff believe this will be the first time a judge will listen to the issues the club has with the conduct of the parties in the transfer, saying that little of what will be discussed at this hearing has been examined or considered in the past.

The case will also be heard by consular judges – company owners or directors from business rather than the legal world – elected to the position.

The hearing is expected to begin at 16:00 GMT on Monday.

No witnesses will be called by either party and evidence has already been submitted and seen by judges, with both clubs’ legal teams putting forward their cases.

The judges will then retire to consider their verdict. There are two elements of that decision: the question of liability and then, if necessary, how much of the damages being sought should be paid.

While theoretically the hearing could take only a matter of hours, it is expected to be months before a judgement is handed down.

Indeed, it could be as late as March before the clubs discover the outcome.

Even then, there are avenues of appeal available to both parties.