New favor from UEFA has Gibraltar. At the same time sanctioned Spain (especially to their captains Rodrigo Hernández And Alvaro Morata for the songs during the celebration of the Eurocup), the highest body of European football close your eyes with the selection of the British colony, which is authorized to play international matches in a stadium which in any other country would be illegal and which, for UEFA itself, was not suitable for this type of matches.
Concretely, UEFA authorizes the Gibraltar team to play in a stadium that it previously banned and which It was not suitable for international competitions. This is the Punta Europa Stadiuman artificial turf football field with a capacity of only 700 spectators which does not meet the standards of elite European football. Or it was not respected, because overnight, UEFA authorized Gibraltar to play there in a new favor to this small territory in the south of the peninsula.
The Gibraltar national team, official since 2013 for UEFA and since 2016 for FIFA, traditionally played at Victoria Stadiuma plot of land located at the entrance to the territory, next to the curious airport, built in an area reclaimed from the sea. This pitch met UEFA standards, but under certain conditions, since Gibraltar was allowed to play there if they renovated it. gesture of goodwillin a favor that UEFA generally does not show towards any other team. Gibraltar promised UEFA that they would improve this Victoria Stadium (or improve a new one) and ended up cheating them. They didn’t and that’s why UEFA didn’t let them play there anymore.
After a brief period of “exile” Lighthouse (Portugal), UEFA suddenly allowed the weak Gibraltar team to return to its territory. And to do this, they have authorized that they can do it in this Punta Europa stadium which owes its name to its geographical position: they are at the forefront of Europe, in as far south as possible on the Iberian Peninsula.
UEFA’s favor with Gibraltar
This is UEFA’s favor towards Gibraltar. They authorize the selection of the British colony – they will be measured this Thursday against San Marino– play in a stadium that UEFA itself had previously banned. This field is very smallwith a capacity of 700 people (in some cases they extend it to 2,500 with additional stands that UEFA, for example, does not allow at Gironaas well as other teams) and is used for other sports such as rugby or cricket.
UEFA has always maintained that international matches cannot be played in this Punta Europa stadium because did not follow the rules and because it is not suitable for security reasons, both for supporters and players. However, He changed his mind this summer, sanctioning Spain for songs during the European Cup celebration. Morata and Rodri, captains of the tournament champion team, were sanctioned by UEFA for singing “Gibraltar is Spanish”.
In the agreement between UEFA and Gibraltar – it’s really a favor – it is specified that teams from this territory belonging to the United Kingdom can also play in the stadium. So they were played there previous qualifying rounds European competitions such as the Champions, the Europa League or the Conference.
“We are very grateful to UEFA for granting us this exemptionwhich demonstrates the excellent relationship we have with UEFA,” he said. Ivan RobbaGeneral Secretary of the Gibraltar Federation. His comments recognize the preferential treatment: it is an “exemption” which does not exist with other federations and there is a “great relationship” between this federation and the highest body of European football.
According to this agreement by which UEFA allows Gibraltar to play in a stadium which in Spain, it would be a districtthe organization led by Alexandre Céferine It is specified that this preferential treatment “subject to improvements and infrastructure works” in this stadium as well as that during high-risk matches there could be an “alternative venue”, which would already be outside the stadium. Gibraltar. This is the agreement, but the practice is something else.
A few years ago, when UEFA also made a deal with Gibraltar and let them play at the Victoria Stadium, it was agreed that this would be the case if they committed to building the new stadium, which was to be completed in 2021. Gibraltar told them deception: In 2022, they still haven’t created this new domain or reformed the one they had. They then alleged delays due to the pandemic.
