Manchester City and Spain midfielder Rodri has been charged by UEFA over controversial comments about Gibraltar following Spain’s win at Euro 2024. During the event, Rodri chanted, “Gibraltar es Español,” meaning “Gibraltar is Spanish,” which forms part of the ongoing territorial dispute between Spain and the United Kingdom over Gibraltar, a British Overseas Territory.
In the midst of it all, Rodri’s teammate Alvaro Morata was quick to reply, “But you play in England, buddy.” Thereafter, the Gibraltar Football Association wrote a complaint calling Rodri and some other Spanish players “hugely offensive” for their comments, trying to mix politics with sport in a very inappropriate manner.
UEFA reacted by opening disciplinary proceedings against Rodri and Morata. In a statement, UEFA mentioned, “Disciplinary proceedings have been instigated in accordance with Article 55 of the UEFA Disciplinary Regulations (DR) against Rodrigo Hernandez Cascante and Alvaro Morata for the conduct that occurred during the public presentation of the 2024 UEFA European Championship trophy in Madrid on 15 July 2024.”
Charges against Rodri and Morata include breaches of UEFA’s general code of conduct and accusations of “using sporting events for manifestations of a non-sporting nature” and “bringing the sport of football, and UEFA in particular, into disrepute.” The GFA reacted to the opening of the probe into the issue: “This is an important first step to establish the unlawfulness of the chant on grounds put forward by the GFA. The Gibraltar FA now awaits the decision of the board when the matter is heard.”
It is despite all that fuss that Rodri enjoyed an outstanding summer, one in which he was named Euro 2024 Player of the Tournament, another honor in what certainly is a remarkable haul of recent years. The football world now holds its breath as UEFA makes a potentially landmark call on this matter at this interesting junction of politics and sport.
