“We’re Gibraltarian, we’re British and that’s what we are. We know where we’re from, we know what we are, and we just want to be respected for that.”
Gibraltar national team captain Liam Walker was speaking to The Athletic after Gibraltar’s 2-2 UEFA Nations League draw with Liechtenstein on Sunday evening at the Europa Point stadium. He had just been asked for his views on Spain players Rodri and Alvaro Morata singing “Gibraltar is Spanish” while celebrating La Roja’s European Championship victory in July.
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UEFA charges Rodri, Morata for chants during Euro 2024 celebrations
A complaint about those chants from the Gibraltar Football Association (GFA) led UEFA to ban Rodri and Morata for one game for “violating the basic rules of decent conduct” and “for bringing the sport of football, and UEFA in particular, into disrepute”.
That brought a lot of attention to the tiny, 6.8 square kilometre territory on the tip of the Iberian peninsula, whose situation is especially complicated following the 2017 ‘Brexit’ vote that saw the United Kingdom (of which Gibraltar is part) leave the European Union (of which Spain is a member).
It also meant a further mixture of football and politics that is not always welcomed by those within Gibraltar, who are proud of their place on the international stage, despite having a population of little more than 30,000 people.
“They (Rodri and Morata) can say what they want, but everyone knows what the people here thought of that,” Walker said.
“It doesn’t matter what is said on the political side, we’re really proud to represent Gibraltar, our home, our country. It’s like every nation, you are proud to wear the badge, wear the shirt. We give everything on the pitch for the people of Gibraltar.”
While the Gibraltar Civilian Football Association was established in 1895, there is a much longer history of political and military competition around its iconic rock. A strategic position where the Mediterranean Sea meets the Atlantic Ocean means many powers have coveted it throughout history, including ancient Phoenicians, Greeks, Egyptians, Carthaginians, Romans and Visigoths.
The name ‘Gibraltar’ derives from the Arabic Jebel Tariq (Tariq’s Mountain), from Umayyad Caliphate commander Tariq ibn Ziyad, who established Muslim rule in Andalusia (now the southern region of Spain) in the eighth century. Spanish kings ruled over the rock from 1462, and it became part of the British Empire in 1704.
Ever since then, the Spanish government has tried to regain control through various military and political means. Two years after Gibraltar’s population overwhelmingly rejected Spanish sovereignty in 1967, the border with Spain was completely closed. It only reopened in 1986, when Spain joined the European Union (EU). In 2002, 99 per cent of the electorate voted against the idea of shared sovereignty between the UK and Spain.
Gibraltar became part of the British Empire in 1704 (Dermot Corrigan/The Athletic)
A first application for the football team’s UEFA membership, made in 1999, was rejected after intense opposition from Spain. Further bids in 2007 and 2011 were also successfully blocked by their bigger neighbour. It took a Court of Arbitration for Sport ruling in May 2013 for Gibraltar to officially become UEFA’s 54th member association.
Gibraltar’s first international game was a friendly against Slovakia in November 2013, which finished 0-0. Lining up in defence was Danny Higginbotham, whose father was stationed in Gibraltar with the British army, and whose uncle Allan Bula was Gibraltar’s first international manager.
“After the game, there were a lot of tears,” former Manchester United and Stoke defender Higginbotham told The Athletic.
“You could tell they had grown up together, they all knew each other’s families. Their hard work, dedication, determination to be accepted was fascinating to see. Everyone was celebrating, hugging each other, so emotional. It was amazing just to see how much it meant for them.”
Asked for his reaction to Morata and Rodri’s chants, Higginbotham says that, in his time with the Gibraltar team, there was little talk about politics.
“There was not really talk about political stuff within the group,” the U.S.-based pundit for NBC and Apple TV said. “But people who were involved in Gibraltar being seen as its own nation will have very strong views on what was said.”
After walking across from the Spanish town of La Linea de la Concepcion on Saturday afternoon, through passport control on Winston Churchill Avenue, it did not take long to feel that few in Madrid or London have much idea of the real history or identity of most Gibraltarians.
Gabriella Falero, who represented Gibraltar as an athlete in international competition, was one of those who said their own identity is not well understood in Spain or England.
“People do not appreciate what a Gibraltarian is,” Falero said. “A Gibraltarian is very British, but is not English. My grandmother was descended from Genoa (in northwest Italy), the other side was Maltese, we have Spanish and Portuguese in the bloodline. We like to go on the world stage and say, ‘This is who we are — we’re not English, we’re not Spanish, we’re Gibraltarian’.”
When asked about the Spain players’ chants, most Gibraltarians said they did not care what had been said. “We all saw what Rodri and Morata said in the media, but politically that is more of a Madrid thing,” said Falero, whose son James Scanlon, 17, plays for Manchester United and the senior Gibraltar football team.
Alvaro Morata and Rodri both sang “Gibraltar is Spanish” at Spain’s Euro 2024 celebrations in Madrid (Alberto Gardin/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images)
But it was also soon clear that the chants following Spain’s win had stung.
After a while, most brought up the Spanish enclaves of Ceuta and Melilla, surrounded by Moroccan territory on the African side of the Mediterranean. Others said the usually congenial mood in Gibraltar, where 15,000 Spaniards cross the border every day to work — many in service jobs — had been affected this summer.
“There were some nasty exchanges in bars and shops after the chants from Morata and Rodri,” said one resident, who preferred not to be named given the sensitivity of the topic and their involvement in the football industry.
There was also frustration about how Gibraltar often gets brought up when English and Spanish teams compete in football.
Atletico Madrid fans chanted “Gibraltar es Espanol” when Liverpool visited for a Champions League group game in October 2021, leaving visiting fans nonplussed. Leicester City supporters in Madrid for a game against Atletico in April 2017 chanted, “Gibraltar is ours” as they clashed with Spanish police. Scarves with the “Gibraltar is Spanish” message were on sale outside Getafe’s Alfonso Perez stadium in June 2016, before La Roja lost a friendly 1-0 to Georgia..
‘Pirates out’ of Gibraltar flag on sale outside Getafe’s Coliseum before Spain friendly. Top left also not nice. pic.twitter.com/PN9vJcjflD
— Dermot Corrigan (@dermotmcorrigan) June 7, 2016
More than one Gibraltarian pointed out that, before initiating the chant during the celebrations by Madrid’s Cibeles fountain, Morata said to Rodri “I was given a hard time there”, alluding to his trouble settling in London as a Chelsea player from 2017 to 2019. The idea was to needle the English, with the Gibraltarians ending up as collateral damage. But local pride led to a strong response.
“Our reaction was one of shock as you can imagine,” UK-born GFA vice-president Paul Lyon told The Athletic. “There was genuine upset that such a political gesture and chant had been used in such circumstances. Gibraltar made the complaint to UEFA due to the unacceptable nature of their chants. We’re happy with how UEFA dealt with the case.”
After UEFA’s decision to ban Morata and Rodri for one game, Gibraltar’s chief minister, Fabian Picardo, posted on X, “GIBRALTAR BELONGS TO THE GIBRALTARIANS and no chanting or anything else will ever change that.”
Some Gibraltarians would have preferred for their own political leaders not to mix sport and politics themselves. The precise long-term nature of the border following the UK’s ‘Brexit’ vote in June 2016 to leave the EU has not yet been determined. A ‘hard Brexit’ outcome could mean the border closed for those Spanish workers who support Gibraltar’s economy and the lifestyle of its British citizens. Talks over the issue are ongoing between the UK, Spain and Gibraltar. The territory’s negotiator is its attorney general Michael Llamas KC, who is also the president of the Gibraltar FA.
Gibraltar’s players before their Nations League match against Liechtenstein (Joaquin Corchero/Europa Press via Getty Images)
Later on Saturday evening, unexpected rain made people in shorts and sandals scurry for cover across Grand Casemates Square, where red and white bunting and temporary stands were already in place to celebrate Gibraltar National Day on Tuesday.
Huge banners declared that “self-determination is our right” and “the soil of Gibraltar should belong to no one but the people of Gibraltar” around the square, which boasts a Costa Coffee, Debenhams, Taco Bell, Spanish supermarket Eroski and a pub called the Lord Nelson, built into the old city fortifications.
The Lord Nelson was full to watch England beat the Republic of Ireland 2-0. The menu featured fish and chips and chili con carne. Drinks on tap included Old Speckled Hen, Alhambra, Strongbow, Guinness and San Miguel. Those present were almost all cheering for England, although not everyone.
“I didn’t realise Gibraltar was part of England,” said one British patron, a Londoner on holiday on Spain’s southern Costa del Sol, who was visiting the territory for the day.
“Imagine telling a proud Scot that he is English, see what that gets you,” quietly retorted one Gibraltarian.
Gibraltar’s 2,500-capacity Europa Point stadium is squeezed between the southern face of the territory’s famous rock and the Mediterranean. On Sunday evening, the British national anthem God Save the King was played as a Gibraltar XI, including the names Banda, Lopes, Annesley, Torrilla, Scanlon and Walker, lined up pre-game.
Gibraltar’s record appearance holder Walker made use of the wind coming off the sea to score direct from a corner after eight minutes. Early in the second half of a scrappy encounter, Liechtenstein winger Ferhat Saglam slammed in an equaliser. Walker had a penalty saved by visiting goalkeeper Benjamin Buchel and a Liechtenstein goal was disallowed for offside after a VAR review.
Scanlon nodded Gibraltar 2-1 ahead to raucous cheers from the home fans in the 97th minute. But there was still time for Liechtenstein captain Andrin Netzer to convert a penalty to make it 2-2. Fourteen minutes of stoppage time were eventually played, and Estonian referee Kristo Tohver showed 15 yellow cards, as well as a red to home substitute Joseph Chipolina, as things boiled over during one of the many long VAR waits.
Gibraltar fans celebrate during their 2-2 draw with Liechtenstein (Dermot Corrigan/The Athletic)
Walker was still disappointed when he appeared to speak about an hour afterwards. The 36-year-old, whose CV includes time in the Spanish fourth and fifth divisions for Linense and San Roque, League One in England for Portsmouth, and a season with Israeli top-flight side Bnei Yehuda Tel Aviv, tried hard to find some positives.
“There’s plenty of quality in the team, a lot of determination, we work so hard on and off the pitch,” he said. “We prepare for this, it’s what a lot of us live for.”
As the sun set on the many tankers sailing past the stadium, The Athletic returned to the town centre, hoping to catch some of Spain’s Nations League game against Switzerland on TV. But back at the Lord Nelson pub, all the screens were switched off. The barman explained in Spanish that they only had UK channels. Instead, most patrons were out on the terrace listening to music coming from the nearby stage, set up for the national day celebrations.
Under a big banner reading, “Self-determination is our right,” an enthusiastic young band were playing their version of the indie rock classic Buddy Holly by U.S. group Weezer.
“I don’t care what they say about us baby, I don’t care about that,” sang the Gibraltarian lead singer.
As an indirect response to the Morata and Rodri chants from July, it was quite fitting.
(Top photo: Rodri during Spain’s Euro 2024 celebrations and Gibraltar’s Europa Point Stadium; Getty Images, Dermot Corrigan)
