Nantes fined for Emiliano Sala tributes

French club Nantes have been fined €21,000 after supporters set off flares during a tribute to former striker Emiliano Sala.

The Argentine forward died last month when the single-engine plane carrying him from Nantes to his new team Cardiff City crashed on January 21 in the English Channel.

A privately-funded search led to wreckage being found on February 3 as Sala’s body was recovered three days later. The plane’s pilot, David Ibbotson, is still missing.

Nantes were fined a combined total of €21,000 (£18.300) by Ligue 1’s disciplinary commission after supporters set off flares and threw objects in a league match against St Etienne on January 30, the club’s first fixture since Sala went missing.

The club were also fined €4,500 {£3,900) for a similar tribute by fans in their league game against Nimes earlier this month.

The deadline for Cardiff City to pay the first installment of the £15million transfer fee for the Argentine has been extended to Wednesday 27 February after Nantes threatened to take legal action against the Premier League side.

The Welsh outfit were due to make the first payment on February 20, but the clubs have agreed a delay of a week.