Emiliano Sala: Cardiff players reluctant to fly after Sala disappearance, says Sol Bamba

Cardiff City defender Sol Bamba has said that some of his team-mates are too scared to fly after the disappearance of Emiliano Sala one week ago.

On Tuesday night, Cardiff played their first game since the disappearance of the aeroplane carrying Sala and pilot David Ibbotson, a 2-1 Premier League defeat at Arsenal. A crowdfunded search operation for both men continues.

A number of Cardiff’s players have been attending counselling sessions to cope with the tragedy, while manager Neil Warnock has spoken candidly about struggling to “get out of bed in the morning” and considering whether to walk away from football management.

And Bamba, Cardiff’s current captain, described in detail after the Arsenal loss how the whole squad have been deeply affected by Sala’s disappearance.

“It is very difficult to even describe the emotions,” Bamba said.

“It’s something unusual, a big tragedy, and we’ve all been affected by it - the lads and the city, the whole club. It has been very, very difficult and I think we needed something like this game to get back to normal.

“We travel with planes and everything and some of the lads were maybe thinking they don’t want to go on it any more. It was that deep. The gaffer and the club have been good in terms of bringing someone in to talk to if we need it and a few of the lads have needed that to get it off their chests. I think it was good thinking from the club and the gaffer and hopefully in the weeks to come the lads are going to feel better.

“Obviously before the game there was a feeling of ‘let’s do it for Sala’. The gaffer said if anyone didn’t feel like playing, just say it and he wouldn’t hold it against them. But the lads all wanted to play for him and for the club. Credit to everyone.”

Many of Cardiff’s players had not even met Sala at the time of his disappearance, or had only spoken to him briefly. But Bamba said that he shares an agent with Sala and had told him all about the club and the challenges of English football.

“I knew him personally because we work with the same agent,” Bamba added. “He came to the club to visit the stadium and the training ground. He’s been talking to the lads to say hello and he was definitely part of us. We feel like we’re missing him.

“I spoke to him before he signed. He asked about the club, the dressing-room and would he fit into the team, what the gaffer and the city are like. I told him only good things and he was looking forward to it.

“Obviously I have a personal connection with him through my agent but I can’t say I feel more sad than the other lads. Everyone feels sad, the whole club. Credit to everyone for the way we’ve all stuck together. The community of Cardiff has been very god. The fans never met him but what they did for him was remarkable. We’re sure we’ll never forget that.

“We said back home that where there’s life there’s hope and you never know what is going to happen. The search continues and hopefully we can find something good for the family in particular. I’ve got kids myself so I can imagine how the family feel. But overall it’s been very difficult for everyone involved with Cardiff City and the whole football community.

“The support we’ve had from everyone in the game has been very good.”