LONDON • Footballer Emiliano Sala's family were left to grieve yesterday after British authorities formally identified the Argentinian's body as the one recovered from the submerged wreckage of a plane that went down in the English Channel more than two weeks ago.
"We can now begin to mourn our son and our brother," the 28-year-old Cardiff City striker's family said in a statement.
"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 precious help to us."
The Premier League player's former French club, Nantes, said it was withdrawing the jersey with Sala's number 9 on it and all Ligue One and Two matches in France this weekend will be preceded by a minute of applause for him.
The light aircraft was carrying the £15 million (S$26.3 million) club-record signing from Nantes to Cardiff when it disappeared near the island of Guernsey, along with 59-year-old pilot David Ibbotson, whose body has not been found.
Sala's disappearance had sparked an outpouring of grief and a flood of cash to support a private hunt for the plane when the official search was initially called off on Jan 24.
Sala's body was first spotted by British rescuers using a remotely operated underwater vehicle on Sunday, close to where the plane vanished from radar on Jan 21.
Investigators recovered the body on Wednesday but said they were abandoning plans to lift the plane wreck out of the water because of bad weather. However, British police said that an investigation into the circumstances of his death was continuing.
"I am very sorry about this sad news. Many of us kept a glimmer of hope for you, Emiliano," Argentina legend Diego Maradona said on Instagram. "What sadness, this is the worst news. Rest in peace warrior," tweeted retired Argentinian football star Gabriel Batistuta.
Argentina President Mauricio Macri also offered his condolences to Sala's family, saying: "We are with you."
There was also an outpouring of grief from fellow players. Manchester City's Ilkay Gundogan and Kylian Mbappe of Paris Saint-Germain had been among the 4,829 people who contributed to a crowdfunding campaign which paved the way for the private search.
Your soul in my soul will shine forever, thus illuminating the time of my existence.
I love you.
ROMINA SALA, Emiliano Sala's sister, in a moving tribute to her brother posted on Instagram.
Gundogan tweeted "may he rest in peace", while Mbappe simply tweeted "RIP Emi". Arsenal midfielder Mesut Ozil tweeted there were "no words to describe how sad this is".
Sala's sister Romina, who confirmed her family would be adopting Nala, the player's beloved dog, took to Instagram, posting a moving tribute to her brother.
She wrote in Spanish: "Your soul in my soul will shine forever, thus illuminating the time of my existence. I love you."
Cardiff manager Neil Warnock yesterday said that he believed Sala would have thrived in the Premier League, saying: "He was a type of player that would score 10 or 15 for me at the top level every year. But, not just that, he would work hard as a team player.
"He was at the prime, I felt, and he knew he had things to prove."
AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE, REUTERS
GOODBYE, BROTHER
Portland ties the Western Conference series 1-1 with a 97-90 victory. and the Portland Trail Blazers turned back the Denver Nuggets 97-90 on Yim's bow tie habit led to "Bow Tie
McCollum leads Blazers past cold Nuggets, 97-90
Reds fans upbeat, City faithful rejoice, Football News & Top
Real Madrid coach praises Bale, calls for patience with Isco - Madrid, Nov 10 : Real Madrids interim coach, Santiago Solari, on Saturday praised Welsh forward Gareth Bale while calling for
Real Madrid coach praises Bale, calls for patience with Isco
Chelsea 2-0 Tottenham: We must fight for third place - Pochettino. Spurs needed to respond after the loss at Burnley on Saturday but this was a tired, uninspired performance that surely ends their
Where Chelsea can win or lose the top four - football.london
Everton ride luck for 2-0 victory at home to Bournemouth. There were grumblings of discontent from the home fans as Everton were outplayed before the break but Marco Silva's side improved in the
Everton ride luck for 2-0 home victory over Bournemouth - The
For the first time, MyFootballCamp is coming to Singapore, and an amazing youth football training camp will be held at Home United Youth Football Academy (HYFA) at Mattar Road in term 20 November - 24 November2017!
Football; Formula 1; Willian gem sinks Newcastle as Chelsea cement fourth place. Willian cut back inside two Newcastle defenders on the left side of the area before curling a masterful
Football: Willian gem sinks Newcastle as Chelsea cement
£100m too cheap, but hard to keep hold of Hazard, admits
After releasing multiple image teasers, Girl's Day released the music video teaser for their comeback track "Ring My Bell" on July 3rd.. With the four-member group's silhouette in front of a black and white background, the teaser showcased that the track includes fun and funky beats.
Sheridan: Kyrie Irving on His Future: "Ask Me July 1" | Get
Football: Ole Gunnar Solskjaer gives stars 'licence to
London - Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp is relaxed about Mohamed Salah's goalscoring drought, saying the Egyptian forward remains a key part of the title chasers' attacking armoury.Salah, who
Klopp relaxed about Salah's Liverpool drought - punchng.com
For all the criticism of the predictability of Manchester United under Jose Mourinho, perhaps no performance was more predictable than that which gave Ole Gunnar Solskjaer a symbolic 5-1 win in
Attacking football 'the way Manchester United are - goal.com
Banks was best known for the stunning one-handed save from a Pele bullet header that bounced awkwardly in front of him during England's group-stage game against Brazil at the 1970 World Cup in Mexico.
Players and fans pay tribute as England World Cup-winning
0 comments:
Post a Comment