Watford will be respectful to Cardiff City in Friday's match at the Cardiff City Stadium, following the discovery of the body of Bluebirds striker Emiliano Sala.

The match will be the first to take place at Cardiff’s home ground since Sala’s remains were discovered after the plane he was a passenger in crashed in the English Channel and Hornets head coach Javi Gracia believes it is important to be respectful of the situation, while not neglecting their duties on the pitch.

He said: “This season there were two difficult moments for two different teams, Leicester one of them and Cardiff, and it’s true that it’s something that in that moment and now we try to be very very respectful with them because you don’t want anybody to suffer these things.

“After all that you are going to compete in the game and after on the pitch, we are playing against 11 people and we try to do our best because we have to be respectful with our supporters and with ourselves as well.

“There are moments when you are competing when you have to do the best, but there are moments when you can empathise and be very respectful with them because they deserve all your support but after, the game’s the game.”

Gracia admitted he had never experienced similar circumstances before, but insisted that it was a much more difficult situation for those associated with Sala and pilot David Ibbotson than it is for Watford.

He said: “You don’t like it and I have never been in a situation like that, but what I think is, it’s difficult not for us, it’s difficult for Sala’s family and it’s difficult for all the people around the pilot.

“It’s difficult for them, not for us.

“We carry on, playing, doing the same, doing our jobs, we try to be respectful with them, it’s our work and we try to play as best as possible, after the game they have to manage their difficult moments.”

Cardiff boss Neil Warnock attended Sala’s funeral in Santa Fe, Argentina on Saturday and he spoke of how emotional the experience was.

He said: “They’re a very close knit community, everybody came to the wake in the local village hall. I’ve never seen anything like it.

“People coming up to the mother, I don’t know how she coped.

“She was crying her eyes out but I think she had a bit of closure. It was the right thing to do, but it was an experience to see the emotion from everyone. The press were there from every country.”