Emiliano Sala: Nice condemn their own fans for chant about footballer who died in plane crash

12th May 2022 | Source: BBC

Sala had signed for Premier League Cardiff for £15m

French side Nice have condemned a section of their own supporters for a chant mocking the late Emiliano Sala.

Sala, 28, died when the plane he was flying in crashed in the English Channel in January 2019 as he was about to join Cardiff City from Nantes.

Nice lost the French Cup final 1-0 to Nantes on Saturday and the chant was heard as Nice faced Saint-Etienne in Ligue 1 on Wednesday night.

Nice said it condemned the chant

"in the strongest possible sense".

"The club does not recognise its values or those of the entire red-and-black family in this unthinkable and abject provocation by a minority of its supporters," read a statement.

"Nice sends its support to the family and friends of Emiliano Sala."

After the match Nice coach Christophe Galtier added: "I have no words to describe what we heard. We hear many things in a football stadium. But that - where do insults of a dead footballer come from? If that's our society, we're in trouble."