Emiliano Sala: Cardiff set to appeal Fifa ruling over £5.3m payment to Nantes

The governing bodies' Players' Status Committee had ordered the Welsh club to pay the first instalment of the fee

Tom Kershaw
Wednesday 02 October 2019 10:29 BST
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Cardiff City have confirmed they will appeal against Fifa‘s ruling that the club must pay a £5.3m instalment to Nantes for the transfer of Emiliano Sala.

The Welsh claimed said it was “extremely disappointed” with the verdict of Fifa’s Players’ Status Committee, who yesterday ordered the club to pay the first instalment of the £15m fee for the late striker.

The Welsh side will now challenge the ruling at the Court of Arbitration for Sport.

In a statement, Cardiff said: “Following Fifa’s update on their announcement regarding the transfer of Emiliano Sala, Cardiff City Football Club will be launching an appeal to the Court of Arbitration for Sport.

“Cardiff City FC is extremely disappointed at the decision of the Players’ Status Committee to award against the club. It would appear the committee has reached its conclusion on a narrow aspect of the overall dispute, without considering the full documentation presented by Cardiff City FC to Fifa.

“Nevertheless, there remains clear evidence that the transfer agreement was never completed in accordance with multiple contractual requirements which were requested by Nantes, thereby rendering in null and void.

“We shall be appealing to CAS in order to seek a decision which considers all of the relevant contractual information and provides clarity on the full legal situation between our two clubs.

“This is a complex matter, which includes ongoing civil and criminal considerations both in the UK and abroad, which will likely have an impact on the validity of the transfer. It is therefore vital that a comprehensive judgement is reached following a full assessment and review of the facts.”

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