Cardiff City could lose points, if they fail to honour the agreement to pay £15million to Nantes for forward Emiliano Sala, the Press Association reports.
Sports law expert, Gianpaolo Monteneri, says the Bluebirds may face the consequences if they don’t comply with the set terms of the transfer they agreed to last month.
Nantes have asked Cardiff to pay the first of three £5million instalments for the 28-year-old Argentinean forward last week, but Cardiff chairman Mehmet Dalman has claimed that the time is not right to talk about a financial transaction.
Dalman told L’Equipe that the club has not “said we were not going to pay”, but with Nantes’ second demand for the money being made this week, Monteneri said the Premier League club could be risking punishment if they delay the payment.
“If certain deadlines, which are mentioned in the transfer contract, are not met then these may trigger consequences for the club in question.
“This can be from an admonishment right up to a withdrawal of league points.
“It is a very tricky situation as we are talking about a human tragedy and an important amount of money.
“It is a human case on one side, and on the other side for Nantes, a financial case and compensation that they are potentially not receiving.
“They have also lost a key player and for them it is a sporting effect as well that needs to be considered,” Dalman, a former head of FIFA’s Players’ Status Department between 1997 and 2005, said.
Sala and pilot David Ibbotson were on board a Piper Malibu light aircraft, which crashed into the English Channel, when flying from Nantes to Cardiff on January 21.
Following extensive searches, a body was found and recovered from the aircraft as it lay on the bottom of the Channel.
It was confirmed on Thursday night that the body was Sala’s.
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