During Spain’s celebratory party following their overwhelming triumph in the 2024 European Championship, Álvaro Morata and Rodrigo Hernández Cascante (hands up if you knew that was his last name) made some controversial comments. These comments include Morata and Rodri chanted that Gibraltar is a part of Spain, when it is in fact under English control and part of a long time dispute between the two countries.
The Gibraltar football federation in turn filed a complaint to UEFA on account of those comments and UEFA has charged Spanish duo for what they said. UEFA’s disciplinary website recently release a statement on the incident, which reads like this:
Disciplinary proceedings have been instigated in accordance with Article 55 of the UEFA Disciplinary Records (DR) against Rodrigo Hernández Cascante and Álvaro Morata for the conduct that occurred during the public presentation of the 2024 European Championship trophy in Madrid on July 15 2024.
Charges against Rodrigo Hernández Cascante and Álvaro Morata:
General principles of conduct, Article 11(1) DR;
Violating the basic rules of decent conduct, Article 11(2)(b) DR;
Using sporting events for manifestations of a non-sporting nature, Article 11(2)(c) DR;
Bringing the sport of football, and UEFA in particular, into disrepute, Article 11(2)(d) DR.
Notably, UEFA did not specify what the charges are for. It is very, very likely that the Gibraltar comments are the reason for these charges, particularly when one considers the third charge leveled at Morata and Rodri. But who knows? Perhaps someone at UEFA is a huge fan of Bayern Munich’s Jamal Musiala and was annoyed at Morata’s “where is Musiala” comment during the same party. Though maybe that is a little bit of a stretch…
Hasibur Rahaman is a passionate sports journalist. He covers everything from cricket to field hockey, delivering up-to-the-minute updates and in-depth analysis of sporting events, both within India and on the international stage.
