Cardiff City have confirmed they are appealing the Fifa ruling that ordered them to pay £5.3million of the transfer fee for Emiliano Sala.
The club have maintained they were not liable to pay the £15m transfer fee to Nantes for the striker on the grounds he was not officially their player at the time of his death.
On Tuesday, Fifa ruled that the Bluebirds must pay the first instalment of the agreed £15m transfer fee, which equates to £5.3m, following a Players' Status Committee meeting held last Wednesday.
This particular ruling is in relation to the £5.3m Nantes were due from Cardiff in their first instalment. Such was the payment structure agreed between the two clubs, City would have paid only that figure by now.
But Cardiff have today released a statement confirming they will be launching an appeal to the Court of Arbitration for Sport.
The club say it is "extremely disappointed at the decision", and says "it would appear the committee has reached its conclusion on a narrow aspect of the overall dispute".
Argentinian striker Sala was tragically killed in January when the plane he was flying in crashed into the English Channel while making his way from France to Cardiff. David Ibbotson, the pilot of the plane, remains unaccounted for.
Cardiff City's full statement
A club spokesman said: "Following Fifa’s update on their announcement regarding the transfer of Emiliano Sala, Cardiff City Football Club will be launching an appeal to the Court of Arbitration for Sport.
"Cardiff City FC is extremely disappointed at the decision of the Players Status Committee to award against the club. It would appear the committee has reached its conclusion on a narrow aspect of the overall dispute, without considering the full documentation presented by Cardiff City FC to Fifa.
"Nevertheless there remains clear evidence that the transfer agreement was never completed in accordance with multiple contractual requirements which were requested by Nantes, thereby rendering in null and void.
"We shall be appealing to CAS in order to seek a decision which considers all of the relevant contractual information and provides clarity on the full legal situation between our two clubs.
"This is a complex matter, which includes ongoing civil and criminal considerations both in the UK and abroad, which will likely have an impact on the validity of the transfer. It is therefore vital that a comprehensive judgement is reached following a full assessment and review of the facts."
