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Friends and family carry Sala's coffin to waiting hearse for journey to Santa Fe for cremation Cardiff city was well represented at Emiliano Sala's funeral, with a delegation made up of manager Neil Warnock, CEO Ken Choo and liaison officer Callum Davies. Davies was due to welcome Emiliano at Cardiff Airport on the fateful night of January 21.  Warnock (left) and Davies (right) at Sala's funeral Warnock spoke to reporters at the service and said it was a very emotional day. " It has been a very emotional morning. Mercedes (Sala’s mother) has been an immense woman this morning. Everyone she has met has had their own memories of Emiliano and it has brought tears to her eyes. His father is the same, and his brother and sister. It is like the whole village is united and it is amazing how they have coped with it. We were very fortunate last night to speak with Mercedes and Romina in the hotel and to have some quiet time. The pride Mercedes has in her son

FC Nantes striker Majeed Waris has revealed that the late Emiliano Sala, who died in a plane crash over the English Channel , was like a brother to him, and his death has deeply hurt all his teammates at Nantes. Sala was journeying from Nanes to his new club Cardiff when the crash occurred. Waris disclosed that he and Sala had a strong bond, and that the deceased was loved by all.  “Emiliano Sala was like a brother to us all, even though I only knew him six months ago. He is a person everyone loved. “It all depends on us. You can always think of him while keeping your head up. This is our job. We must always give the best because there are fans who support us. We have to give everything for the club even if we can never forget Emiliano Sala.” He also said Nantes's defeat to Nimes in the Ligue 1 was due to the team's mental weakness.  “The Nîmes match was completely different. Last Sunday, there was still a lot of emotion. Mentally, we have been weak. To lead 2

Emiliano Sala's body was repatriated to Argentina on Friday on a British Airways flight. Thousands are currently paying their last respects to the Cardiff City striker at a vigil in the sports hall of his boyhood football club San Martin, in Progreso.  Progreso mayor Julio Muller yesterday night confirmed that Sala's body would be transported to Santa Fe - an hour's drive south after the eight-and-a-half-long wake ends, so it can be cremated. Mr Muller said: 'If all goes to plan, people will be able to pay their last respects to Emi today from 7am local time to about 3.30pm. 'At 2pm there will be a religious ceremony in the same sports hall where the wake is taking place. 'At 3.30 the family took the decision to cremate Emi's body so it will be returning to the crematorium in the city of Santa Fe.' There are speculations that Sala's remains would be buried in Progreso but the family hasn't made an official disclosure of the venue as y

The body of Cardiff City footballer Emiliano Sala was returned to Argentina on Friday ahead of his wake and funeral in his home town of Progreso. His body was slowly escorted out of the Buenos Aires airport by police vehicles, and was driven to Progreso, where his vigil will take place. His vigil will hold in the gymnasium near his youth-club headquarters. Sala's body arriving ahead of funeral Emiliano Sala died at 28, on his way to his new club Cardiff, in a plane crash over the English Channel. A privately-funded underwater search led to the discovery of a body in the plane's wreckage on February 3. On February 6, the body was retrieved and later formally identified as Sala's. The plane's pilot, David Ibbotson is yet to be found though presumed dead.  Mirta Taffarel, Emiliano's aunt, watches the van take off with the coffin Sala's family issued a statement thanking the public after Sala's body was identified.  "We would like to thank

Following the death of 28-year-old striker Emiliano Sala, his body will be repatriated to his home country Argentina, on Friday, ahead of a vigil at his boyhood club San Martin de Progreso on Saturday. Sala died in a plane crash in the English Channel, near Alderney. He was traveling from Nantes to join his new club Cardiff, after a club-record £15million transfer from Nantes. Emiliano Sala with CEO Ken Choo after his transfer to Cardiff City Neil Warnock - Cardiff manager, and Ken Choo - Cardiff chief executive officer, will be part of a Cardiff delegation attending the funeral in the town of Progreso in the Argentinian province of Santa Fe. A report from Ouest France reveals that that Sala’s former club Nantes will be represented at the funeral by central defender Nicolas Pallois and general secretary Loic Morin. Pallois was a close friend of Sala's, and will be missing Nantes' Ligue 1  game at Monaco on Saturday to attend the funeral.

Footballer Emiliano Sala's body will be flown to his hometown in Argentina on Friday for a vigil in the gym next to his boyhood club. Emiliano Sala, 28, was flying from Nantes to Cardiff in a plane piloted by David Ibbotson, which went missing over the English Channel on January 21. The pilot's body is yet to be recovered . Sala's body was recovered from the plane's wreckage in the English Channel on February 6. Julio Muller, mayor of Sala's hometown of Progresso in Argentina, said the player's family had arrived for the service. He also said Sala's body would arrive on Friday, in the late afternoon, and be taken to the gymnasium close to his youth club's (San Martin de Progreso) headquarters, where a vigil will hold. San Martin president Daniel Ribero said:  Emi’s body is going to reach Argentina from Europe on Friday and on Saturday we will spend several hours saying farewell to him at the club". Emiliano played at San Martin until h

Cardiff City chairman Mehmet Delman says the club is still collecting information over the £15 million ($19 million) record transfer fee to Nantes for Emiliano Sala "if contractually obliged." Sala signed for the Bluebirds in January and suffered a plane crash in the English Channel, on his way to his new club. Sala was killed in the crash , at the age of 28. His body was recovered from the seabed wreckage last Thursday but the plane's pilot, David Ibbotson is yet to be found. Afundraising campaign was launched by Ibbotson's family for the resumption of the search for the pilot . Cardiff owner Vincent Tan made a personal donation of £50,000 to the cause. Despite a demand for the first instalment of the transfer fee from Nantes, the Welsh club is hesitant to pay as they are still seeking for clarification on the issue. "Of course, if we are contractually obliged to pay them then of course we will. We are an honourable club. But if we are not - and the

UEFA has issued the observance of a minute's silence at all Champions League and Europa League matches this week in honor of Emiliano Sala. The 28-year-old Cardiff City signing died in a plane crash, on his way to his new English Premier League club. The aircraft piloted by David Ibbotson lost contact with air traffic control over the English Channel on January 21. The pilot is yet to be found . Sala's body was formally identified on February 7 after its recovery from the underwater wreckage. His cause of death was revealed yesterday after apost-mortem .  "On behalf of everyone at UEFA, I would like to express my sincerest condolences to the family and loved ones of Emiliano Sala for their loss," said UEFA President Aleksander Ceferin. "I am deeply saddened that his life was so cruelly taken away at such a young age and I urge supporters across the continent to pay their respects to his memory over the coming days." Clubs can also choose to wear

New Cardiff City signing Emiliano Sala was confirmed dead last week after the recovery of a body from the wreckage of the plane that carried he and pilot David Ibbotson. A post-mortem has found that the Argentinian football player died from injuries to his head and torso. A hearing of the post-mortem examination of his body took place on Monday, and Dorset Coroner's Court concluded Sala passed away due to injuries to his head and trunk. Assistant Dorset Coroner Brendan Allen revealed that Sala's body was identified from fingerprints after recovery.  Mr Sala was identified on February 7 by means of fingerprint evidence analyses by fingerprint expert Christopher Bradbury," said Ian Parry, a senior coroner's officer for Dorset. He added, "A post mortem was carried out after the body was taken to Holly Tree Lodge mortuary. "Home office pathologist Mr Purdue gave the cause of death as a head and trunk injuries." The Air Accident Investigation repor

The family of David Ibbotson, the pilot who steered the doomed aircraft that crashed over the English Channel resulting in the death of Cardiff player Emiliano Sala , have set up a fundraising page for donations to help restart a search for the pilot. Experts recently reported that Ibbotson may have still had some control over the plane when it crashed down. Ibbotson's body was not found in the wreckage and experts believe there are very slim chances of him ever being found. The GoFundMe page has so far raised more than £20,000. A message on the site reads: 'Please help bring David Ibbotson home and help give him the send off he deserves. 'As a family we are relying on the kindness of the good hearted people to help us raise the much needed funds to help us find our beloved Dad, Husband and Son. 'As a family we are trying to come to terms with the tragedy and the loss of two incredible men. 'To be told the search has now been called off for the fore

Emiliano Sala's family began grieving the passing of the Cardiff City footballer on Friday after British Authorities (AAIB) formally identified the body recovered from the plane wreckage as Sala's. In a statement, the family said,  “We can now begin to mourn our son and our brother."  “We would like to thank you for all of your signs of affection and support in the most painful time of our life. “To see everyone doing everything possible to join us in the search has been a precious help to us,” the family said.  Sala's former club Nantes, announced its decision to withdraw the jersey with Sala's number 9.  In a statement, Nantes president Waldemar Kita said: "I do not have the words, it's a tragedy, I'm devastated, Emiliano left his mark, which is why, like many fans, I want to honour him again by removing the number 9 ".  The French league, Ligue 1, will also honor Sala with a minute of applause before every game.  Cardiff led tri

Dorset Police revealed on Thursday night that the body recovered from the wreckage of the crashed plane that was transporting Emiliano Sala to Cardiff City is indeed Sala's. The body was recovered on Wednesday after the wreckage was spotted on Sunday.  In a statement, Dorset Police said,  "the body brought to Portland Port today ... has been formally identified by HM Coroner for Dorset as that of professional footballer Emiliano Sala." It continued, "the families of Mr. Sala and the pilot, David Ibbotson, have been updated with this news and will continue to be supported by specially-trained family liaison officers. Our thoughts remain with them at this difficult time."  Police reckoned they will continue to investigate the "circumstances of this death." Cardiff City Football Club said in a statement: "We offer our most heartfelt sympathies and condolences to the families of Emiliano. He ad David will forever remain in our thoughts. T

A body has been recuperated by AAIB, the from the wreckage of the small aircraft that crashed into the English Channel, with Emiliano Sala and David Ibbotson aboard as passenger and pilot respectively. The identity of the body is yet to be disclosed as it could be that of 28-year-old Sala or 59-year-old Ibbotson. Sala's former team, Nantes, is pressing Cardiff City, to whom it sold Sala, for the payment of the first installment of Sala's $19.4 million transfer fee. Nantes has threatened legal action against Cardiff in a letter to the club on Tuesday, stating that they would take legal action if the first payment of the fee is not made within 10 days. Cardiff City however prefers to wait until investigations into Sala's accident is completed by the Air Accidents Investigation Branch before making any payments.  The AAIB said (via the AP) that the body was recovered in “challenging conditions,” and that the “operation was carried out in as dignified a way as poss

David Mearns, oceanographer and director of Bluewater Recoveries, who headed the renewed search efforts to locate the then missing plane carrying Emiliano Sala and David Ibbotson, says both Sala and Ibbotson's families know they are dead. Mearns and his company were able to locate the plane just hours after the search had commenced, with video footage revealing a body on board the wreckage. All hope of miraculously finding the pair alive has been lost as Mearns confirmed the priority is to try to recover the bodies. In an interview with Argentine publication  Clarin , Mearns said,  “What these families know at the moment is that both [Sala and Ibbotson] are dead and what they want is to recover their bodies." “The most important thing is the bodies. Recovering the bodies is the most important thing for both families. The plane is a different matter, that's related only to determining the cause of the accident.” Mearns offered some insight into how the bodies wo

Authorities are on a mission to recover a body in the plane carrying Cardiff City player Emiliano Sala, and pilot David Ibbotson, from the seabed of the English Channel. The mission began on Tuesday evening, with the wreckage having been discovered on Sunday, around 67m deep, between Guernsey and the Devon coast. A body was discovered within the wreckage. The Air Accident Investigation Branch (AAIB) has deployed the Geo Ocean III, an 80m state of the art oceanographic ship, above the crash site and a remotely operated vehicle (ROV) is trying to recover the body from the scene.  "We are attempting to recovery the body. If we are successful, we will consider the feasibility of recovering the aircraft wreckage" said an AAIB spokesperson. “Strong tidal conditions mean we can only use the remotely operated vehicle (ROV) for limited periods each day and this will mean that progress is slow. “Regardless of the results, we will not be making a further statement until t