Nantes have made a claim to FIFA over Cardiff City’s refusal to pay the first instalment of the £15million transfer fee spent on Emiliano Sala.
Sala died in a plane crash over the English Channel days after becoming the Bluebirds’ record signing, and the Premier League side had to pay the first instalment of the fee on Wednesday.
However, they have refused to do so as the Welsh club want the Air Accidents Investigation Branch (AAIB) to release all their findings concerning the crash.
Nantes, who wrote to Cardiff on February 5 requesting the initial payment, have now lodged a claim with FIFA over the Bluebirds’ refusal.
“We can confirm that we have received yesterday evening a claim from FC Nantes against Cardiff City in connection with the transfer of Emiliano Sala,” a FIFA spokesperson said.
“We are looking into the matter and consequently we have no further comments at this stage.”
Cardiff later released a statement of their own, remaining insistent that the authorities must be allowed to complete their investigation.
It read: “Cardiff remain committed to ensuring fairness and accountability with respect to the agreement, but first and foremost the relevant authorities must be allowed to determine the facts surrounding this tragedy. It is inappropriate to comment further at this stage”
The AAIB released their interim report apropos the crash earlier this week, with a full report to follow in due course.
Investigators are yet to determine what caused the Piper Malibu to come down near Alderney on January 21, though the wreckage was discovered just 30 metres from the aircraft’s final recorded location on radar. This implies the aircraft fell almost vertically from around 1,600ft into the Channel.
The full report will also look into the validity of the pilot’s licence as David Ibbotson – who remains missing – only held a licence which allowed him to fly passengers in the European Union on a cost sharing basis, rather than for commercial flights.