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“ NANTES FC FINED “

Thu Feb 21, 2019 8:36 am

Nantes fined for flares that paid tribute to Cardiff City striker Emiliano Sala

The Cardiff City striker was laid to rest in Argentina at the weekend, but Cardiff now deny Sala was never their player.



THURSDAY 21 FEB 2019


The Cardiff City striker was laid to rest in Argentina at the weekend

Nantes have been fined more than £14,000 after their fans let off flares in tribute to Emiliano Sala.

The French club, Sala's former side where he made his name and earned a £15million move to Cardiff City, have been hit with a €16,000 (£14,400) fine by Ligue 1 for "use of pyrotechnics and throwing objects".

They paid tribute to Sala during games against St Etienne and Nimes, the former which was their first fixture after the light aircraft carrying the striker and pilot David Ibbotson disappeared over the English Channel.

A group of Cardiff fans also travelled to the St Etienne match to unfurl their banner in tribute to Sala, while the match was halted on nine minutes - the player's squad number - for fans, officials and players to join in applause.

The Nimes game was the first match after the confirmation of Sala's death, following the discovery and identification of his body.

Sala scored 48 goals in 133 games for Nantes before securing a Bluebirds record transfer to the Premier League.


The Argentinian's funeral was held last weekend, while the search continues for missing Mr Ibbotson.

The pilot's family have crowdfunded a search.