The Nantes commercial court is expected to deliver its decision on the financial dispute between the football clubs of Nantes and Cardiff City on Monday, seven years after the death of Emiliano Sala in a plane crash. The Welsh club alleges “negligence” while Nantes claims to be facing “legal harassment”.
Argentinian player, 28, perished in a plane crash over the English Channel in January 2019 as he was on his way to Cardiff City, where he had just been transferred from FC Nantes. He had not yet played for his new club.
Cardiff City Football Club (CCFC) brought the case to the Nantes commercial court in 2023 to claim compensation for lost revenue and other damages incurred by the club due to the player’s death.
The Nantes commercial court, after hearing arguments from both clubs at the beginning of December, is expected to deliver its decision early in the afternoon. Who is responsible? Cardiff City argues that FC Nantes, through agent Willie McKay, was involved in organizing the private flight on which the footballer was traveling. According to the Tribunal of Arbitration for Sport (TAS), even though the transfer was completed at the time of the accident, the focus is on the organization of the flight.
“Willie McKay could not ignore the illegality of the flight,” said Cardiff City’s lawyer, Olivier Loizon, before the court. He accused McKay of “carelessness” and “negligence”, stating that “whatever the final cause of the accident, (Emiliano Sala) should not have been on that flight.”
On the other hand, FC Nantes’ lawyers pointed out that only David Henderson, the flight organizer, had been convicted in the UK for hiring an unqualified pilot and flying a passenger without a valid authorization.
Furthermore, the agent hired by FC Nantes for Emiliano Sala’s transfer was Mark McKay, Willie McKay’s son, who, according to FC Nantes’ lawyer, was just supporting his son due to his experience.
“There is nothing in this case to justify the liability of FC Nantes,” according to their lawyer. Damages estimated at 120 million euros by Cardiff Nantes club’s advisors denounced Cardiff City’s “legal harassment” during the hearing and accused them of “instrumentalizing” Emiliano Sala’s death.
After analysis by an expert appointed by Cardiff City, the Welsh club estimated its damages at over 120 million euros. The financial expert heard by the commercial court explained that the calculation method took into account Cardiff’s relegation from the Premier League to the Championship.
FC Nantes’ lawyers dismissed the “fantastical” figures presented by Cardiff City before the court. They requested one million euros from Cardiff City for moral damages.
In another proceeding related to the dispute between the two clubs, the TAS ruled in 2022 that the player’s transfer had been finalized at the time of his death.
In 2023, the FIFA football tribunal ordered Cardiff to pay Nantes the remaining amount of the player’s transfer fee, which was a little over 11 million euros out of a total of 17 million euros at that time.
