FIFA verdict in Sala case warns of Cardiff transfer ban

ZURICH (AP) - FIFA has warned Cardiff it is facing a transfer ban of three windows if the club fails to send 6 million euros ($6.7 million) to Nantes as the first payment for Emiliano Sala.

The threat facing Cardiff was detailed Monday in FIFA's published verdict in a dispute over the Argentine forward who died in a plane crash in January before playing for his new team.

After getting the written verdict in recent days, Cardiff can appeal against FIFA's ruling at the Court of Arbitration for Sport.

FIFA says an appeal will stop the clock on Cardiff's 45-day deadline to pay until a binding verdict by CAS. That could take about one year.

Sala was killed when a single-engine aircraft carrying him from Nantes to Cardiff to complete his move crashed near the Channel Island of Guernsey late on Jan. 21.

Hours earlier, FIFA says, it received an online document from the Welsh soccer federation to complete transferring the player's registration from France.

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