Seven years since Emiliano Sala’s death, what has changed for the ‘wild west’ of football transfers?

March 30, 2026 No Comments

Seven years since Emiliano Sala’s death, what has changed for the ‘wild west’ of football transfers?7 hours agoShareSaveJenny JohnsonNews ImpactShareSaveGetty ImagesStriker Emiliano Sala died in a plane crash on his way to embark on a new chapter in CardiffThe final chapter in the long-running dispute which followed the death of footballer Emiliano Sala is set to play out in a French court.A judge is due to decide whether Cardiff City should be compensated by FC Nantes for the loss of the Argentine striker.Sala, 28, and pilot David Ibbotson died when the Piper Malibu plane carrying them crashed into the English Channel on the night of 21 January 2019.

Seven years on, the battle between the two clubs will come to a head in the commercial court in Nantes on Monday, following a hearing in December 2025 in which Cardiff argued the man who booked the flight, Willie McKay, was acting on behalf of the French club – a claim denied by Nantes.

The star striker was on his way to join Cardiff City – then in the Premier League – from Nantes for a £15m transfer fee, having signed for the club two days earlier.

Cardiff is claiming compensation of more than €120m (£104m) for loss of income and other damages, based on the belief that Sala could have kept the club in the Premier League.

The club was relegated to the Championship at the end of the 2018-2019 season and then plummeted further to League One in April 2025.

FC Nantes has disputed “the existence of any wrongdoing” on its part, as well as Cardiff’s outlined damages.

But Sala’s death also shone a light on the opaque world of football transfers and player welfare, as well as on so-called ‘grey’ and illegal charter flights.

It highlighted the high-stakes nature of transfer deals and the pressures on players caught up in them.

Sala’s friends have spoken of his uncertainty about the move to Cardiff and the pace at which events unfolded around him, while voice messages which emerged after his death conveyed his sense of unease and confusion.

Cardiff City had unveiled Emiliano Sala as their new addition just two days before the crash

Getty Images A young man with brown hair, wearing a white shirt and dark jumper. He is holding a blue Cardiff City football shirt and is stood in front of a blue, Cardiff City branded wall which reads "Welcome to Cardiff City Football Club". He is smiling and looking at the camera. — Cardiff City had unveiled Emiliano Sala as their new addition just two days before the crash

Lorna McLelland, a former player liaison officer at Aston Villa, reported that, despite calls for change after Sala’s death, not enough had been done.

While most clubs have a player welfare system in place, there are no set standards for what the role should involve and there is often overlap with the work of agents and intermediaries.

McLelland, who founded the National Association of Player Welfare Officers, reported she believed “mandated areas of responsibility and a prescribed modus operandi should be put in place in each and every club”.

“In terms of movement of players, central to that is money…it’s always the case and it’s still a little bit of a wild west.

“I’m really quite shocked that not much has been put in place for this but, as we know, football is a complicated world and there needs to be a lot more change than there has been to date.”

Jonathan Booker, a former agent now working in sports mediation, reported there had been a “flurry of activity” in player welfare and duty of care following the tragedy, but this had not been sustained.

“I’d like to see set standards, if not accreditation, for player care and welfare roles in all clubs, not just the Premier League, which at the moment often sees roles overlap and it’s not always obvious who’s responsible for what,” he reported.

The former general secretary of the Association of Football Agents added: “There’s too much risk of inexperienced and under-confident staff in such roles being railroaded by some players and even agents – for example, a young player wanting to buy a high-performance car they’re not equipped to drive safely.”

The Professional Footballers Association reported it recognised transfer windows could be stressful and pressurised for players and their families, adding awareness of player wellbeing was “growing within the game”.

“It is vital that players have the right people around them at times like this,” it reported.

“A player should always feel that their career is in their hands and that a transfer – a major career decision – is their choice.”

The Football Association (FA) reported professional football leagues and clubs were primarily responsible for players’ wellbeing.

A spokesman added: “Our thoughts remain with the family and friends of Emiliano Sala following this tragic incident.”

Both the FA and the English Football League reported CAA guidance about air travel had been shared with clubs in the wake of the tragedy and was periodically redistributed around transfer periods.

FC Nantes ‘negligence cost Sala’s life’, mother says

‘A tragic plane crash; a stain on football’s reputation’

Willie McKay was not registered as a football agent at the time of Sala’s death, but his son Mark was, and was working with Nantes to try to sign Sala to a Premier League club.

McKay claimed that, when he booked Sala’s flight through David Henderson, he was just using his contacts to help his son.

He is now working as an agent again, and appears in the FA’s transaction lists since 2023 as representing Mohamed Reported Benrahma, an Algerian midfielder who played for West Ham before transferring to Saudi club Neom SC last year.

The McKays did not comment when invited to do so by BBC Wales.

The organiser of Sala’s flight, David Henderson, was sentenced to 18 months in prison in November 2021 after he was found guilty of recklessly endangering the safety of an aircraft.

He did not have an Air Operator’s Certificate (AOC), a requirement for carrying paying passengers which also ensures operators meet certain maintenance and safety standards.

The trial also heard the pilot Henderson had chosen to fly Sala to Wales – David Ibbotson, 59, of Crowle in Lincolnshire – was not qualified to make the journey.

He did not have a commercial licence for carrying passengers, nor the correct certification to fly at night, and his rating to fly the single-engine Piper had expired.

The footballer’s body was recovered from the plane wreckage about two-and-a-half weeks after the crash and repatriated to Argentina, but Ibbotson has never been found.

‘An important benchmark’

Glenn Hogben, chief executive officer of industry trade body The Air Charter Association, reported Henderson’s conviction set an “important benchmark” for future prosecution of those involved in illegal charter operations.

“Our members are all fully licensed and have to provide all of those documents before they join…but there are bodies outside that network that might consider doing a short flight on a private basis and accepting some form of reward for it, and that is where that line is crossed.”

Following the crash, tighter regulations were introduced in October 2025 for private pilots carrying passengers under a “cost-share” arrangement – where pilot and passengers must share all costs of the flight equally.

They were designed to address concerns that this system was serving as a smoke screen for some illegal charter flights, and included enhanced advertising of a pilot’s qualifications and experience, limits on numbers of passengers, equal contributions to cost such as fuel and airfield charges from all parties including the pilot – with no profit element – and a mandatory passenger information form.

“These actions aim to improve transparency, ensure passengers understand they are not on a commercial flight, and prevent illegal chartering,” reported a Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) spokesperson.

“We never saw you play and never saw you score, but Emiliano our beautiful Bluebird, we will love you forever more,” wrote Cardiff fans

Getty Images Cardiff City Stadium with blue, Bluebirds branding on the outside of it. In front of the stadium are hundreds of bunches of flowers, messages and blue Cardiff City scarves and shorts strewn on the ground. A long blue banner wrapped round the gate in front of the stadium reads: "We never saw you play and never saw you score, but Emiliano our beautiful Bluebird, we will love you forever more." A metal statue of a man with one arm raised in the air is on a plinth to the right of the shot. The sky is blue, it is a clear day. — “We never saw you play and never saw you score, but Emiliano our beautiful Bluebird, we will love you forever more,” wrote Cardiff fans

Hogben reported his members would pass information to the regulator if they had suspicions of illegal activity at airfields.

“The understanding of what is and isn’t legal has increased,” he reported.

“We have seen that happen over the last few years, an increasing awareness in the industry and people prepared to say ‘well, hang on a minute, this isn’t right, this is impacting our business as a licensed carrier, and it’s not fair.'”

The CAA reported it had been working towards “digitising pilot licences” following concerns from air accident investigators that pilot records in this and other cases were incorrect.

The Air Accidents Investigation Branch (AAIB) reported it considered the CAA’s response to record-keeping improvements to be “adequate”.

Another recommendation from air accident investigators following the crash was the introduction of audible carbon monoxide (CO) detectors for piston-engine aircraft which are known to generate significant levels of CO.

They believe carbon monoxide fumes were leaking into the cabin of the plane during Sala’s flight, and the lack of an audible alarm meant Ibbotson was unable to take action to disperse the deadly gas.

A spokesman for the UK government’s department for transport reported: “Following this tragic incident, we worked with the CAA to strengthen regulations to help prevent illegal charter flights and better protect passengers.

“We are committed to learning from accidents and ensuring that we continue to strive for a safer aviation industry.”

‘An important benchmark’

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