French Graffiti Artist Pays Tribute To Tragic Sala

Story By: Joseph Golder, Sub Editor: Joseph Golder, Agency: Golders

A French graffiti artist has paid tribute to tragic international footballer Emiliano Sala with this huge, touching mural on football pitch changing rooms “with the stadium on the right and the Channel on the left”.

Graffiti artist Kmu, real name Romuald Demilly, painted the touching mural on the side of football pitch changing rooms in Portel, near Boulogne-sur-Mer, in the Pas-de-Calais department in France.

He said the choice of location was no accident, adding: “We’ve got the football stadium on our right, and the Channel on our left.”

Pictures Credit: Golders/@kmu62h & Golders/@NSmigelski & Golders

The artist, an out-of-work plumber, specialises in painting deceased celebrities. Kmu (pronounced ‘ka mu’), 40, started working as a graffiti artist 10 years ago.

Argentine international Emiliano Sala died when the plane taking him from the French city of Nantes to Welsh capital Cardiff crashed in the English Channel near the Channel Island of Alderney.

The 28-year-old former Bordeaux and Nantes striker, who was praised for his tenacity and ‘eye for goal’, had agreed to join Cardiff for 15 million GBP.

The artist told local media it was the footballer’s tragic fate that inspired him to paint the mural. He said: “I don’t really follow football, but this story, it is incredible. A mate explained to me that give or take 10 kilometres (6.21 miles), the body could have washed up on the Portel beach. This is what inspired me to pay tribute.”

Pictures Credit: Golders/@emilianosala9

He however added: “He was an emblematic player, his death touched a lot of people.”

According to local media, while he created the mural without asking for authorisation, he did tell a friend who works at the town hall what he was going to do. He also said: “I attacked the wall without authorisation, Tuesday evening, and by Thursday I had finished it after working on it for seven hours. Everything was done using spray paint.”

The mural has since done the rounds on social media. The artist confessed he would like to know what Sala’s family think of his work.

Meanwhile, Sala’s alleged secret girlfriend has paid tribute to the Argentine footballer by having a tattoo done on her right arm.

Brazilian Luiza Ungerer, 31, had Sala’s shirt number tattooed on her arm under a field of flowers and she posted the snap with the message: “Forever Emi.”