The Trust has read Monday's report on the ruling dismissing Cardiff City Football Club's claim for more than £100m damages against FC Nantes following the tragic death of striker Emiliano Sala in a plane crash in 2019.
We have also viewed the comments on the verdict by the lead lawyer acting for the club published on the BBC website this afternoon following the decision of a court in Nantes to dismiss Cardiff City FC's compensation claim. It also ordered the club to pay around £400,000 in legal fees and 'moral' damages suffered by FC Nantes.
This is the second legal defeat suffered by the club following the decision of the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) confirming that Emiliano Sala was Cardiff City's player.
As a Trust, we are taken aback by the legal ruling given the high degree of confidence in a positive result consistently briefed by the Club and their legal advisors.
This confidence – which now seems wholly misplaced – was clearly shared by a party which put in £12m as a non-refundable sum (see 2025 audited accounts) to take a share of a successful outcome.
It now appears that it will take a few weeks for the club owner Vincent Tan to decide if it will lodge an (allowed) appeal against today's decision. Part of that decision may be based on potential pressure from the organisation that put up the £12m.
We will keep our members informed as soon as we become aware of further developments going forward.
The Trust Board
