Cardiff City to be handed a three-window transfer ban by FIFA: Report

FIFA has threatened Cardiff City with a three-window transfer ban if they fail to pay the first instalment of the fee owed to Nantes for the late Emiliano Sala.

Cardiff City and Emiliano Sala

Emiliano Sala had signed for Cardiff for a reported €17 million in January 2019 with the first instalment due after the player registration is completed. But unfortunately, Sala died in a plane crash over the English Channel on January 21 along with the pilot David Ibbotson resulting in the Championship side refusing to pay the transfer fee for him. Cardiff claimed the agreement to pay Nantes the fee was not legally binding because conditions insisted upon by the selling club were not fulfilled. Nantes subsequently complained to FIFA in February over the non-payment, leading to the written explanation by FIFA.

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FIFA rules in favour of Nantes

The FIFA Players' Status Committee ruled in September that Cardiff must hand over a €6m payment for signing Sala, who died when their Piper Malibu aircraft crashed in January. FIFA's ruling stated that the transfer had been officially completed before Sala's death and therefore Cardiff remained obliged to make the payment. Cardiff announced in a statement last month that they intend to appeal at the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS), but world football governing body FIFA has outlined its reasons and ordered the Welsh side to pay-up the first instalment. FIFA confirmed in a document published on Monday that the threat of the ban, will be lifted if Cardiff make the payment within 45 days.

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The FIFA Players' Status Committee stated that a ban from registering any new players, either nationally or internationally, for the maximum duration of three entire and consecutive registration periods shall become effective if the payment is not made in time as stipulated. If Cardiff does not pay that figure by the conclusion of the three-transfer window ban, the matter will be heard by FIFA's Disciplinary Committee for consideration and a formal decision.

FIFA has however not yet confirmed whether Cardiff will be liable for the second payment on January 1 2020, or a third payment on January 1 2021.

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