Members of the Spanish national football team have incurred the anger and frustration of Gibraltarians with chants of 'Gibraltar es español' during their Euro winning celebrations last night.
On a main stage in Madrid, the Spanish players, spearheaded by captain Alvaro Morata and one of the players of the tournament, Rodri, led the crowd in the taunt, which has triggered widespread condemnation by media pundits, politicians, and the press.
The GFA is filing an official complaint to UEFA.
The Gibraltar Football Association filed a complaint to UEFA after Spanish players chanted 'Gibraltar is Spanish' during their Euro victory celebrations.
The Gibraltar FA highlighted that Gibraltarians have consistently exercised their democratic right to remain a British territory. Morata's attempt to remind Rodri of his affiliation with an English club was met with dismissal, further aggravating the situation. More.
Jokes on you Ireland
UEFA has confirmed it will appoint an inspector to “evaluate a potential violation” of its disciplinary regulations by two Spanish national players who led chants of “Gibraltar es español” during celebrations in Madrid following Spain’s Euro 2024 win against England.
The decision comes after the Gibraltar FA called on UEFA to take “swift and effective action” against what it described as “deeply offensive” and “highly inflammatory” conduct by the Spanish players.
In a letter to UEFA on Thursday, GFA president Michael Llamas and General Secretary Ivan Robba said the chants led by Rodri and team captain Alvaro Morata had caused “anger, dismay and disappointment” in Gibraltar and brought European football "into disrepute".
On Friday, a spokesperson for UEFA told the Chronicle in an emailed response to questions that it would look into the complaint and decide what action if any to take.
“An UEFA Ethics and Disciplinary Inspector is being appointed to evaluate a potential violation of the UEFA Disciplinary Regulations by the players Mr Rodrigo Hernández Cascante and Mr Álvaro Morata in the context of conduct that occurred during the public presentation of the 2024 UEFA European Championship trophy in Madrid on 15 July 2024,” the UEFA spokesperson said.
“Further information regarding this matter will be made available in due course.”
In the letter, Mr Llamas and Mr Robba said the events in Madrid on Monday had been widely circulated across the globe and had led to repercussions on the ground, including emails and phone calls to the GFA “of a harassing nature”.
On Thursday night, visiting fans from Ireland supporting Shelbourne in their UEFA Conference League match against St Joseph’s chanted “Gibraltar español” during the match.
There were also reports on Thursday of at least one violent incident at the La Linea fair in which two young people from Gibraltar were assaulted by a group shouting “Gibraltar español”.
In its letter to UEFA, the GFA said the conduct of the Spanish players was “unlawful” and in breach of UEFA’s disciplinary regulations, which apply during every match and competition organised by UEFA, but also to the conduct of members of a national team during official celebrations following a victory in a UEFA competition.
“In each case, the player’s conduct is not only not in the spirit of sportsmanship, indecent and insulting, but is actively discriminatory on political grounds and/or the grounds of national or ethnic origins,” the letter said.
The GFA said the players’ conduct was “unprovoked but also extremely provocative and insulting”, and “quite obviously brings the game of football into disrepute.”
“There is clearly no place in football for behaviour of this nature,” Mr Llamas and Mr Robba said in the letter to UEFA.
“We trust that UEFA will take swift and effective action commensurate with the seriousness of the conduct in question.”
On Friday, the GFA weclomed the statement from UEFA confirming the appointment of an Ethics and Disciplinary Inspector to investigate the matter.
"In this regard, the Gibraltar FA confirms that it submitted further evidence to UEFA yesterday in relation to the appalling and unacceptable behaviour of Shelbourne FC supporters at Europa Point Stadium and around Gibraltar," a GFA spokesperson said.
On July 20, the news is that "UEFA is investigating Rodri and Morata for chanting 'Gibraltar español'". It is important to consider that the last sanction imposed by UEFA for a violation of the Disciplinary Regulations was applied to a Turkish player for celebrating a goal against the Austrian team in the Euro Cup round of 16 by making the "Grey Wolves" gesture, a far-right paramilitary group banned in several countries such as France.
First, it is important to analyze: this punishable act occurred on the field, during a sporting competition where people come to watch football. Secondly, the content is directly related to terrorism. Does what was sanctioned have anything to do with Rodri, Morata, and tens of thousands of people chanting "Gibraltar español" during the Euro Cup celebration? The context is entirely unrelated to the sporting competition, and the content is a political thought, coinciding with historical truth, freely expressed. Does asserting the historical reality that GIBRALTAR is SPAIN have any terrorist connotation? It does not seem that UEFA is in good shape when it says it is initiating an investigation into the two Spanish players at the behest of a clearly fascist request from those who claim to govern the Rock, who, by the way, are not even an interested party.
The first question: Can UEFA penalize a person's opinions, whether they are a football player or not? The second: Can UEFA decide whether a person's conduct outside the competition it organizes is correct? The third: Will UEFA be able to enter into the Gibraltar dispute debate? "Charcos tengas y te mojes!"
From here on, attempting to "discipline" someone for freely expressing a message is PURE FASCISM. It seems that within the so-called "Government of Gibraltar," there is a trend to persecute anyone who thinks contrary to their interests. Be careful with this behavior because there are people born in Gibraltar who think GIBRALTAR IS SPANISH. And not because they are anti-Gibraltarians, but because they know the history and understand that the Treaty of Utrecht states the following: "The Catholic King, for himself and his heirs and successors, cedes by this Treaty to the Crown of Great Britain the full and entire property of the city and castle of Gibraltar, together with its port, defenses, and fortifications that belong to it, giving said property absolutely for it to be had and enjoyed with full right and forever, without exception or impediment. But to avoid any abuses and frauds in the introduction of goods, the Catholic King wants, and assumes it should be understood, that said property is ceded to Great Britain without any territorial jurisdiction and without any open communication with the surrounding country by land."
No matter how much Mr. Picardo and his ilk pretend that nothing was signed in Utrecht, or that what was signed is meaningless, the truth is that Gibraltar is Spanish territory, and the terms under which it was ceded in usufruct have been violated by arrogant Great Britain since it was illegally occupied in 1704. Scholars have debated this, but no one can doubt that what was ceded in Utrecht is USUFRUCT, plain and simple. So, Great Britain can only cede Gibraltar to Spain if it decides to abandon the Rock. The occupation of the Isthmus (airport and buildings constructed on it) is a matter of squatters that can be resolved with a lease or a court order.
Those who do not respect treaties will not enjoy any credit. And if any Gibraltarian person is aware that we are in the 21st century and that it is essential to unite wills, how can they not be disturbed by those who seek to persecute an opinion? What would happen if they publicly stated in Gibraltar that belief? Burning at the stake? Do British laws, even if they lack jurisdiction on the Rock, allow the persecution of people's free opinion? What happened with the "GIBRALTAR ESPAÑOL" chants from Irish fans at a football match on the Rock itself? Nothing. Because people have the right to freely express their thoughts, as long as it does not seek to prevent others from enjoying that right. Furthermore, except for the glorification of terrorism, there are no limits to freedom of expression in the civilized world. Two weeks ago, La Vanguardia echoed Nil Codina's analysis explaining "Why the British far-right only gets four seats with 14% of the vote," warning that despite polls predicting less support, Eurosceptics represented by Nigel Farage managed to become the third force in number of votes.
History should not repeat itself because people are supposed to learn from it and not repeat the mistakes of the past. The first major mistake of the 20th century was accepting fascist behaviors as normal. And the first alarm against fascism is the intolerance of anyone expressing their thoughts. The fascist claims the power to decide what is correct or incorrect and, if they have power, burns those who are not on the true path of the only possible truth "Theirs" at the stake. This happened to General Franco, repeatedly cited by Mr. Picardo. Let Mr. Fabian know that his manner of expression has similarities with this way of conducting oneself. He does not like the idea of GIBRALTAR ESPAÑOL. He does not have to like it. No anti-fascist will reproach him for saying or manifesting the opposite. He has the legitimate right as a person to freely and openly express his thoughts, as long as he accepts that others can do the same.
Hindering free expression is a sign that fascism is nesting in those who attempt it. The Spanish government is also not very sharp when it timidly "excuses" itself, speaking of the context of celebration, in the face of clearly fascist behavior trying to curtail free opinion. Because it is not true that the shout "GIBRALTAR ESPAÑOL!" belongs to the category of "rancid comments about Gibraltar," as Mr. Picardo qualifies it. Nor is the "GIBRALTAR ESPAÑOL" chanted in Madrid's Plaza de la Cibeles "a totally unnecessary mix of a great sporting success with discriminatory political statements that are enormously offensive," as the Government of Gibraltar's statement denounces.
In plain language: "He who eats garlic, reeks of it!" Mr. Fabian waves the flag of independence, and no one reproaches him for it. Does Mr. Picardo think that his independence bothers anyone? Surely yes, but he does not hold back and says what he thinks because he has the right to do so, as long as he does not try to silence dissenting voices. The press in the area and the one subsidized by the Gibraltar government should be attentive to advise Mr. Picardo not to so blatantly expose his authoritarian way of thinking. A local newspaper conducted a survey in Gibraltar, and someone asked this question: "Can you imagine how Spaniards would feel if two Moroccan national team footballers sang 'They are from Morocco, Ceuta and Melilla are from Morocco, they are from Morocco, lolololo...' in the middle of a celebration in Rabat after winning the Africa Cup? Think about it." What is there to think about? Any intelligent person knows that the Alawite Kingdom, since Morocco's independence, has fostered the sentiment that Ceuta and Melilla, like IFNI and the Sahara (formerly Spanish), are Moroccan territories. Does it bother that someone thinks differently? The foundation of coexistence is RESPECT. A lot of respect, not for opinions, but for the right of people to have and express them. That is the key to any AREA OF SHARED PROSPERITY.
Signed, Rafael Fenoy
Two Spanish national football players have been suspended by UEFA after they led chants of ‘Gibraltar es Español’ during the celebrations in Madrid of Spain’s Euro 2024 victory.
Rodrigo Hernández Cascante, better known as Rodri and Álvaro Morata have been suspended from taking part in Spain’s next international match.
UEFA opened disciplinary proceedings against both Rodri, and Morata for the conduct that occurred during the public presentation of the 2024 UEFA European Championship trophy in Madrid on 15 July 2024, after an official complaint was submitted by the Gibraltar FA.
Following the proceedings the UEFA Control, Ethics and Disciplinary Body (CEDB) has taken the following decisions:
“To suspend Royal Spanish Football Federation player, Mr. Rodrigo Hernández Cascante, for the next one (1) UEFA representative team competition match for which he would be otherwise eligible, for failing to comply with the general principles of conduct, for violating the basic rules of decent conduct, for using sporting events for manifestations of a non-sporting nature and for bringing the sport of football, and UEFA in particular, into disrepute.”
“To suspend Royal Spanish Football Federation player, Mr. Álvaro Borja Morata Martín, for the next one (1) UEFA representative team competition match for which he would be otherwise eligible, for failing to comply with the general principles of conduct, for violating the basic rules of decent conduct, for using sporting events for manifestations of a non-sporting nature and for bringing the sport of football, and UEFA in particular, into disrepute.”
Both Morata and Rodri are expected to challenge the decision with a report in el Mundo Deportivo this week alleging that the players were seeking to challenge the decision using their own personal lawyers.
Reacting to the decision the Gibraltar Football Association has welcomed UEFA’s decision.
“The Gibraltar FA is delighted to see that the outcome of its complaint is the recognition and confirmation that the players' chants of “Gibraltar es español” violated UEFA Disciplinary Regulations, specifically Article 11. This article mandates respect for the principles of ethical conduct, loyalty, integrity, and sportsmanship, and prohibits actions that insult and violate basic rules of decent conduct, or use sporting events for non-sporting manifestations.”
“The decision by UEFA reinforces the principle that the chants “Gibraltar es espanol”, have brought the sport of football, and in particular UEFA, into disrepute, and confirms that there is no place for politically charged or discriminatory behaviour in football. The core issue at hand was the inappropriate and inflammatory nature of the chants, which not only disrespected the people of Gibraltar but also brought politics into a sporting arena, undermining the values of unity and respect that the sport embodies.
“The Gibraltar FA is pleased that UEFA has acknowledged the severity of this incident and has acted accordingly. This decision sends a clear message that football must remain a platform for promoting peace, understanding, and fair play, free from divisive and offensive actions such as the chants.
“We remain committed to upholding these values and will continue to advocate for respect within the sport.”
Article updated at 12.55 with reaction from Gibraltar FA
