Cardiff City have been ordered to pay the first instalment of the transfer fee for late striker Emiliano Sala.
FIFA have been ordered to pay French club Nantes six million euros, around £5.3million, regarding the signing of Sala in January.
The Argentinian forward died when the light aircraft he was travelling in from France to the UK to complete his £15 million move to the Welsh side crashed in the English Channel.
Cardiff had argued that they could not be held liable for full fee because Sala had not been registered as a Premier League player.
But FIFA's player status committee has decided that they must pay the amount equivalent to the first instalment of that fee.
A statement from the committee read: "In a meeting held on September 25, 2019, the FIFA players' status committee established that Cardiff must pay Nantes the sum of 6,000,000 euros, corresponding to the first instalment due in accordance with the transfer agreement concluded between the parties on January 19, 2019 for the transfer of the late Emiliano Sala from Nantes to Cardiff.
"The FIFA players' status committee, which never lost sight of the specific and unique circumstances of this tragic situation during its deliberations on the dispute at stake, refrained from imposing procedural costs on the parties.
"The findings of the decision were notified to the parties concerned today.
"Within a deadline of 10 days, Cardiff and Nantes can request a copy of the grounds of the decision, which can be appealed to the Court of Arbitration for Sport in Lausanne."
It has been reported that Cardiff will also be liable for the other instalments agreed between the clubs, but FIFA stated it could not comment on this for "confidentiality reasons".
"As mentioned in the media release the sum of 6,000,000 euros corresponds to the first instalment currently due in accordance with the contract," a spokesman said.
"For confidentiality reasons, we cannot comment at this stage on potential future instalments or other conditions of the transfer agreement."
It is understood Cardiff are likely to appeal but in a statement they said tonight: "Cardiff City FC acknowledges the decision announced today by FIFA's players' status committee regarding the transfer of Emiliano Sala.
"We will be seeking further clarification from FIFA on the exact meaning of their statement in order to make an informed decision on our next steps."
The aircraft carrying 28 year-old Sala and the plane's British pilot David Ibbotson disappeared on January 21 this year.
The wreckage of the Piper Malibu plane was found off Alderney in the Channel Islands on February 3.
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The body of Sala was recovered and he was formally identified by Dorset Police in February however Mr Ibbotson's body has never been found.
A report from the Air Accidents Investigation Branch (AAIB), published last month, found that Sala had a high concentration of carbon monoxide in his bloodstream prior to the plane crash.
It said: "Toxicology tests on the blood of the passenger showed a carboxyhaemoglobin (COHb) saturation level of 58 per cent."
A COHb level of 50pc or above in an otherwise healthy individual is generally considered to be potentially fatal.
The report also said pilot Mr Ibbotson is also likely to have been affected as "in this type of aircraft, the cockpit is not separated from the cabin."
