Nantes’ next two fixtures have allegedly been postponed amid fears over the club’s former player Emiliano Sala.
Sala, the striker, was on board a light aircraft which went missing over the Channel Islands on Monday evening, as it flew from Nantes to Cardiff, the French civil aviation authority have confirmed.
Sala left the Ligue 1 side on Saturday to join Cardiff for a club-record fee, but he returned to France over the weekend to say his goodbyes to his former team-mates.
A search operation remained ongoing throughout Tuesday, with the Piper Malibu carrying two people disappearing from radar near the Casquets lighthouse, Alderney.
As of 11:45am on Tuesday, five aircraft and two lifeboats had scanned the area, and there had been no sign of the missing plane.
Guernsey Police confirmed in a statement: “A search and rescue operation is currently under way off the north of Alderney after a light aircraft disappeared from radar several hours ago.
“Two helicopters alongside the Guernsey and Alderney lifeboats are searching for it.”
Nantes were due to play L’Entente in the Coupe de France on Wednesday, but reports in France claim the match has been postponed in the wake of the incident.
It is believed the fixture has been rescheduled for Sunday, January 27, which means Nantes’ following match has also been postponed.
Their Ligue 1 clash against Saint-Etienne, which was due to take place on Saturday, has been delayed to an unspecified time in the future to allow the Coupe de France game to take place on it’s rescheduled date.