FIFA have ruled that Cardiff City must pay Nantes €6 million for the transfer of Emiliano Sala who died tragically in a plane crash earlier this year.
The Argentine footballer died when flying to the UK from France when the aircraft crashed in the English Channel on Saturday, January 19th.
His body was recovered on February 7th after a search funded by the footballer’s family.
Cardiff had argued that they should not have to pay the fee for his transfer as Sala had not been registered as a Premier League Player.
However, the FIFA player status committee has concluded that the Bluebirds must pay the amount equivalent to the first instalment of the transfer fee.
This will come as a big blow to Cardiff, who are currently in 12th place in the Championship after nine games.
A statement from the committee said: "In a meeting held on September 25, 2019, the FIFA players' status committee established that Cardiff must pay Nantes the sum of 6,000,000 euros, corresponding to the first instalment due in accordance with the transfer agreement concluded between the parties on January 19th, 2019 for the transfer of the late Emiliano Sala from Nantes to Cardiff.
"The FIFA players' status committee, which never lost sight of the specific and unique circumstances of this tragic situation during its deliberations on the dispute at stake, refrained from imposing procedural costs on the parties.
"The findings of the decision were notified to the parties concerned today. Within a deadline of 10 days, Cardiff and Nantes can request a copy of the grounds of the decision, which can be appealed to the Court of Arbitration for Sport in Lausanne."
At the time of writing, Cardiff City have not announced whether they will appeal the decision to the Court of Arbitration for Sport in Lausanne.
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