UEFA has opened a disciplinary investigation into Spain players Rodri and Alvaro Morata over their ‘Gibraltar is Spanish’ chants during the nation’s Euro 2024 celebrations in Madrid.
On Tuesday, Gibraltar’s Football Association (GFA) lodged a complaint with European football’s governing body over “extremely provocative and insulting” celebrations by players of Spain’s national team following their European Championship success.
On Friday, UEFA appointed an ethics and disciplinary inspector into the chants from Rodri and Morata during Spain’s squad celebrations in their victory parade in Madrid on Monday, at the city’s Cibeles fountain. The GFA said it “welcomes” UEFA’s decision.
In footage widely circulated on social media, Spain’s captain Morata started the chant: “It’s Spanish, Gibraltar is Spanish” — referencing the peninsula at the southern tip of the Iberian peninsula, which is British territory.
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Spain and Manchester City midfielder Rodri — who was named as the tournament’s best player — took the microphone on stage and joined in with the chant. Morata can be heard telling Rodri: “Man, you play in England”.
Gibraltar became a British territory in 1713, after Anglo-Dutch forces had captured the peninsula from Spain during the War of the Spanish Succession nine years previously. In 1967, its population rejected Spanish sovereignty in a referendum and in 2002 they rejected shared sovereignty between Spain and the United Kingdom.
Spain still claim sovereignty over the peninsula with its government stating: “Spain does not recognise the occupation of the isthmus or the fence as a border.”
Gibraltar was recognised as a full UEFA member in May 2013 and later that year, UEFA decided to keep Gibraltar and Spain apart in qualification groups for major tournaments due to “sensitivities” between the nations.
(Eric Verhoeven/Soccrates/Getty Images)
