FILE PHOTO: Soccer Football - Euro 2024 - Spain Parade after winning Euro 2024 - Madrid, Spain - July 15, 2024 Spain's Alvaro Morata with teammates during celebrations on Plaza Cibeles after winning Euro 2024 REUTERS/Juan Medina/File Photo
(Reuters) - UEFA has started disciplinary proceedings against Spanish players Alvaro Morata and Rodri over their behaviour during a Euro 2024 presentation in Madrid this month, European soccer's governing body said on Tuesday.
The players sang "Gibraltar is Spanish" on July 15, the day after they won the European Championship with a 2-1 victory over England in Berlin, during a public celebration in the Spanish capital. Gibraltar is a British territory located at the southern tip of Spain.
Gibraltar's Football Association filed a formal complaint to UEFA about the chant, and UEFA appointed an ethics and disciplinary inspector to evaluate whether it violated regulations.
The charges against Rodri and Morata include violating the basic rules of decent conduct, general principles of conduct, using sporting events for manifestations of a non-sporting nature and bringing the sport of football into disrepute.
(Reporting by Trevor Stynes, editing by Ed Osmond)
