Source: REUTERS/Luisa Gonzalez
[Saba Sports News] In the recent European Championship final, the Spanish national team won the championship. However, during the award ceremony, the actions of Spanish national team players Alvaro Morata and Rodri Val were unexpected. Spanish player Rodri took the microphone and sang “Gibraltar is Spain,” and Morata encouraged the audience to chant along. Subsequently, the Gibraltar Football Association filed a complaint with UEFA, and the result of the incident has recently been announced. UEFA officially announced that Rodri and Morata are banned from participating in one national team match each, specifically the UEFA Nations League match against Serbia on September 5th. UEFA believes that Rodri and Morata failed to adhere to the code of conduct by using a sporting event for non-sporting purposes, damaging the reputation of football and UEFA, and thus imposed the punishment. The Gibraltar Football Association also posted on social media, agreeing with UEFA’s handling of the situation. Historically, Gibraltar has been a disputed territory between Spain and Britain. It was ceded to Britain in 1713 and remains a British territory, but Spain has never relinquished its claim to sovereignty over Gibraltar, and the issue remains unresolved.