Wednesday 30 January 2019 22:14, UK
Nantes’ players and supporters paid emotional tributes to Emiliano Sala ahead of their first match since the striker went missing on his way to new club Cardiff last week.
A near-capacity crowd packed into the Stade de la Beaujoire for the Ligue 1 fixture against Saint-Etienne as the Argentine forward was remembered.
The home team warmed up in t-shirts bearing Sala's face and the message 'On taime Emi' - 'we love you Emi' - written across the back.
Supporters raised several banners hailing the 28-year-old, whose plane vanished near Guernsey as he flew from France to continue his career in the Premier League with Cardiff.
While fans watched footage of Sala on big screens, they raised a huge card display depicting an Argentina flag behind one of the goals.
There was also a centre-circle image of the former Nantes player and when the teams emerged for the start of the game, every home player had Sala's name on their shirt rather than their own.
Once play had begun, the match was stopped after nine minutes for 60 seconds as supporters applauded loudly in support of a player who served their club for three and a half years.
And when Abdul Majeed Waris equalised 20 minutes from the end to give Nantes a 1-1 draw, several of their players came together to hold up a shirt with Sala's first name on it in dedication to their old colleague.
The tributes came 24 hours after Cardiff paid their own respects to the striker - who had been their record signing when he joined the club on January 19 - ahead of their match at Arsenal.
As the search for the plane continues around the Channel Islands, two aircraft seat cushions were discovered on Monday on a beach near Surtainville on the French coast.
UK investigators said on Wednesday they are "likely" to have come from the aircraft carrying Sala and pilot David Ibbotson.
The Air Accidents Investigation Bureau is now expected to conduct an underwater search of four square miles for the missing plane this weekend.
That operation is separate from the private search which is taking place, although the two groups involved are working with each other.
