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People with lots of money don't like losing it or giving any away
Hence the stupidity of all this
I seem t remember someone saying somewhere that Sala could not have been a Cardiff player as under French law, he was still a Nantes player - in French employment law, someone remains treated as an employee until all money due to them is paid. If that was the case, then I can see why CAS wouldn't want to touch it with a bargepole, as it would open a massive can of worms - sporting regulations vs national laws.
The following is from a report of a meeting between fans reps and the club's top brass in late-December:
"The Swiss Federal Tribunal will only consider an appeal of a CAS decision if it can be shown that there was a fundamental legal mistake, error or omission in reaching their decision. The SFT cannot overturn the football decision that the Sala transfer was complete and that the transfer fee is payable, but may rule that any payment is deferred until a successful counterclaim for financial loss arising from the sad demise of Emiliano Sala is settled."
Basically, the club has exhausted its sporting options (FIFA and CAS), hence the sporting sanctions are being applied by FIFA (sanctions subsequently lifted after the first instalment was paid) and the EFL.
Perhaps if the SFT rules in City's favour, the EFL embargo might be lifted on a technicality of some sort. This may also be why the embargo hasn't been published on the EFL website yet. However, as things stand, City have been found by both FIFA and the CAS to be liable for the transfer fee, hence the sporting sanctions for late payment.
It seems that the SFT rarely overturn CAS, a handful of cases in 40 years, and in most cases the SFT side with the decision of the original body, i.e. where CAS have overturned a ruling. They have some big challenges from FIFA & IOC going on at the moment. History says they’ll back the CAS decision but VT likes a gamble :)
According to Wiki (not the most reliable I know, but still....):
"Decisions of arbitral tribunals constituted under Swiss law, such as the Court of Arbitration for Sport, can be appealed to the Federal Supreme Court, although judicial review is limited to a very narrow set of questions of law in such cases."
Considering the time it took for the CAS decision to be reached, I guess it would be very surprising if that decision was somehow overturned. But City seem to love paying lawyers, so on it goes.
Does anybody know whether the Sala Family Trust Fund is up-and-running and if so how it’s helped the family? I’ve seen occasional references to it.