Gibraltar government 'disappointed' as Spanish footballers make 'rancid' comments about the peninsula after Euros win

16 July 2024, 17:05 | Updated: 16 July 2024, 17:06

The Government of Gibraltar has said it is "disappointed" after several Spanish men's national football team players celebrated their Euros win with "discriminatory political statements" about the peninsula.

Players celebrating their European triumph led crowds to chant "Gibraltar is Spanish" at an event in the capital Madrid on Monday.

Manchester City midfielder Rodri, 17-year-old wonderkid Lamine Yamal, and team captain Alvaro Morata were among those chanting.

In a statement, the government described the remarks as "rancid" and added: "This is a totally unnecessary mixing of a great sporting success with discriminatory political statements that are hugely offensive to Gibraltarans.

"The lamentable use of the platform of celebrations around winning the Euros for advancing the idea of usurping the territory of Gibraltar is contrary to the principle that sport should not be used to advance any politically controversial ideology."

Gibraltar's Football Association has made an official complaint to the European football association, UEFA, describing the chants as "extremely provocative and insulting".

It added: “Football has no place for behaviour of this nature.”

It comes after the Spanish men's football team won the Euros for the 4th time in the competition's history, beating England 2-1 in a thriller on Sunday night.

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Some far-right and conservative Spanish politicians defended the players.

Madrid mayor José Luis Martínez-Almeida told Telecinco: "The players didn't say anything that most Spaniards don't believe."

Meanwhile a senior member of the far-right Vox party Javier Ortega-Smith retweeted a video of the chanting, captioning it "Sí."

Footballer Dani Carvajal also sparked controversy at the Monday night event after he turned away from Spain’s socialist prime minister Pedro Sánchez as he shook his hand.

Gibraltar is a peninsula attached to southern Spain that has been a British Overseas Territory since the 18th Century, although many Spaniards have long called for it's return.

The rocky peninsula does have it's own football team which finished last in Euro qualifying pool B, including posting a 14-0 loss to eventual semi-finalists France.