Celebration Sours: City’s Rodri and Morata Face Heat for Gibraltar Chants
Manchester City midfielder Rodri and AC Milan striker Alvaro Morata might find themselves in hot water with UEFA after their controversial chant during Spain’s Euro 2024 victory celebrations.
Following Spain’s thrilling 2-1 victory over England in the Euro 2024 final in Berlin, Rodri and Morata were caught on camera at a public event in Madrid, singing “Gibraltar is Spanish.” This chant has sparked significant backlash, prompting the Gibraltar Football Association to file a formal complaint with UEFA.
UEFA responded swiftly, announcing an investigation into the matter. “A UEFA ethics and disciplinary inspector is being appointed to evaluate a potential violation of the UEFA disciplinary regulations by the players Rodrigo Hernandez Cascante (Rodri) and Alvaro Morata in the context of conduct that occurred during the public presentation of the Euro 2024 trophy in Madrid on July 15, 2024,” said a UEFA spokesperson. “Further information regarding this matter will be made available in due course.”
According to UEFA’s disciplinary regulations, particularly Article 11 (c), any individual who “uses sporting events for manifestations of a non-sporting nature” is in violation of its conduct rules. Gibraltar, a British Overseas Territory since 1713, remains a contentious subject due to Spain’s ongoing territorial claim.
The Gibraltar Football Association did not hold back in their statement, expressing their indignation: “The conduct in question is deeply offensive to Gibraltarians, who have repeatedly exercised their democratic rights to remain a British Overseas Territory. While Gibraltar has a border with Spain, and values its close co-operative relationship with Spain and the Spanish people, it is and remains a British Overseas Territory. The conduct is also deeply offensive to the Gibraltar FA since it implies we should not exist as an independent national member association of UEFA.”
As a full member of UEFA since 2013, Gibraltar has participated in numerous World Cup and European Championship qualification campaigns, striving to make its mark on the international stage.
The fallout from this incident continues to unfold as UEFA’s investigation proceeds, casting a shadow over Spain’s recent triumph.
