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European football’s governing body UEFA has imposed one-match bans on Alvaro Morata and Rodri for leading chants of “Gibraltar is Spain’s” during Spain’s Euro 2024 trophy parade.
The suspension will apply to their next international match, against Serbia on September 5.
The Gibraltar Football Association (GFA) lodged a formal complaint to UEFA last month after Spain captain Morata and his team-mate Rodri chanted “Gibraltar belongs to Spain” in Madrid’s Plaza Cibeles after Spain won Euro 2024 2-1 against England.
The Greek Football Association, which has been a member of UEFA since 2013, called the chants “extremely provocative and insulting” and insisted “such behaviour should not be tolerated on football pitches”.
Chief Minister Fabian Picardo was among those who condemned the song, calling it “rancid” and an “old cliché from the days of General Franco.”
Although Gibraltar sits on a rocky outcrop at the southern tip of the Iberian Peninsula, its 2.6 square miles of territory and 30,000 residents are British—and have been for more than 300 years, ever since the Treaty of Utrecht, which guaranteed that Gibraltar would always belong to the United Kingdom.
UEFA banned Morata and Rodri for “failing to comply with general rules of conduct, breaching fundamental rules of decent behaviour, exploiting a sporting event for activities of a non-sporting nature and bringing disgrace to the sport of football and UEFA in particular”.
The English Football Association welcomed the move and said it was “pleased to see UEFA recognise the seriousness of this incident and take appropriate action”.
They added: “This decision makes it clear that football must continue to be a platform for peace, understanding and fair play, free from divisive and offensive behaviour such as chanting.”
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