A French court on Monday dismissed Cardiff City’s claim for €122 million ($140 million) in compensation from FC Nantes related to the death of Argentine forward Emiliano Sala.
Cardiff had filed the case in 2023 at the Nantes commercial court, seeking damages for lost income and other financial losses resulting from Sala’s death. The court instead ordered Cardiff to pay Nantes €480,000 in legal fees and moral damages.
Sala, 28, died on January 21, 2019, when the light aircraft transporting him to Cardiff crashed in the English Channel, killing both him and pilot David Ibbotson, just two days after he had signed for the Premier League club.
Cardiff had previously estimated losses at €122 million following expert analysis, but the court rejected their claim. Since Sala’s death, the Welsh club has been relegated from the Premier League and now competes in English football’s third tier.
“We initiated this process so that the full truth would come to light in this case and out of respect for the memory of Emiliano Sala,” Cardiff lawyer Celine Jones said after the verdict. She added: “Today, we bitterly observe that the principles of transparency, integrity, and safety in professional football have not prevailed in this decision.”
Sala’s mother, Mercedes Taffarel, attended the hearing but did not comment.
Nantes, currently battling relegation, welcomed the ruling. “Nantes are in no way responsible for the incident that occurred,” said club lawyer Jerome Marsaudon. Lawyers for Nantes described Cardiff’s legal action as “judicial harassment” and called the €122 million claim “totally fanciful and exaggerated.”
Cardiff had argued that Nantes, through agent Willie McKay, organised the private flight that ended in Sala’s death. The Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) ruled in 2022 that Sala’s transfer to Cardiff was final at the time of the crash. In 2023, FIFA ordered Cardiff to pay Nantes the remaining €11 million of Sala’s transfer fee, part of a total €17 million deal.
In a statement, Cardiff said: “We deeply regret that the court did not recognise FC Nantes’ liability in this tragedy… More than ever, there is an urgent need to strengthen safety and ethical standards in the management and protection of players, so that such a tragedy can never happen again. The world of football must take a hard look at itself.”
