Football: a year after Sala's death, tributes rain, controversies persist

In January 2019, it had just been transferred for 17 million euros from Nantes to Cardiff. A year after the death of the Argentine striker Emiliano Sala, the emotion is still strong and the controversies rage on the responsibilities in the plane crash and the payment of the transfer of the player between the two clubs.

Disappeared a year ago on January 21, Sala will receive a tribute from FC Nantes on Sunday in Ligue 1 against Bordeaux, an Argentine training club, with a special jersey in the colors of Albiceleste, a huge tifo and a minute of applause. In Cardiff, supporters are invited to come and honor his memory on Tuesday outside the stadium and a religious ceremony is planned for the afternoon.

You put on the Nantes tunic with harshness and loyalty, leaving an unforgettable memory within the Yellow House. Facing Bordeaux, in order to pay tribute to you, FC Nantes will be in the colors of your country. A jersey you deserved! pic.twitter.com/qm8PWOgW4K

What happened ?

Emiliano Sala, 28, spends the day of January 21, 2019 in Nantes to settle his departure and greet his teammates. Author of an excellent start to the season with 12 goals, he has just signed up for Cardiff, where his salary, according to media reports, will be multiplied by six.

At 7:15 p.m., he left for Cardiff on a small passenger plane. But around 8:20 p.m., the plane disappeared from radar off the Channel Island of Guernsey.

Searches to find the player and the pilot David Ibbotson, 59, are interrupted after three days but private searches launched by the family thanks to a subscription on Internet make it possible to locate the plane and to recover a body there, formally identified on February 8 as that of Sala.

Arrived young in France and trained in Bordeaux, then loaned to different clubs (Orléans, Niort, Caen), Sala was not an exceptional player. But he was an endearing man and since his arrival in Nantes in 2015, he had managed to make forget his slightly awkward allures and his rudimentary technique thanks to hard work and precious realism.

Who is responsible for the drama?

The flight was organized by the British pilot David Henderson, at the request of the intermediary Willie McKay and his son Mark, the agent mandated by Nantes to carry out the transfer of Sala, who declare to have paid the entire trip .

Cardiff claims for its part to have offered a commercial flight to the player, who declined it, even if he was worried before takeoff of the state of the small plane.

However, this single-engine Piper PA-46 Malibu was not authorized to carry out commercial flights and its pilot, David Ibbotson, was not authorized to transport paying passengers. It is also unclear whether he was allowed to fly at night.

Sala died of "head and trunk injuries" according to the autopsy report. He was also exposed - as was the pilot also, in all likelihood - to a level of carbon monoxide which could cause convulsions, loss of consciousness or heart attack.

In June, British police arrested and quickly released David Henderson. According to several media, the Cardiff club plans to file a complaint in France against the latter, the McKay clan and perhaps also FC Nantes, at least for negligence.

How is the transfer process going?

When signing the transfer on January 19, 2019, Cardiff agreed to pay 17 million euros in three installments, half of which Nantes would then return to Bordeaux. This is the most expensive transfer in Cardiff history and for the Welsh club, which has since returned to the 2nd division, the blow is tough.

Nantes is claiming these payments, claiming that the International Transfer Certificate (CIT) was received on Monday January 21, before the accident. Cardiff, for his part, mentions "anomalies" in the transfer and ensures that the investigation into the responsibilities in the accident could have an impact.

In late September, Fifa ordered Cardiff to honor a first payment of 6 million euros, on pain of being banned from transfer window for 18 months. But Cardiff appealed to the Sports Arbitral Tribunal (CAS).

"Cardiff and Nantes have agreed on the schedule for the written procedure, which should last until around the end of April. A hearing will then have to be scheduled. A priori, a final decision should not take place before June", a explained to AFP Matthieu Reeb, secretary general of the CAS in Lausanne.

With AFP

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