Irish side Shelbourne have been fined by UEFA after imitating Manchester City midfielder Rodri Hernandez and AC Milan forward Alvaro Morata during the celebrations of Spain’s Euro 2024 win. The Shelbourne fans could be heard chanting ‘Gibraltar is Spanish’ in Castellano during their UEFA Conference League qualifier against Gibraltarian side St. Joseph’s.
The Reds in Europe 🇪🇺 pic.twitter.com/QO2GocXM2X
— Shelbourne FC (@shelsfc) July 18, 2024
Shelbourne went through 3-2 on aggregate, and celebrated their away trip to strait, with former Newcastle United, Chelsea and Ireland winger Damien Duff masterminding their progress. However those celebrations went over the top. They now face an uphill task in the third round, after being beaten by FC Zurich 3-0 in the first leg.
Damien Duff absolutely having it after his Shelbourne side made it into the second round of the UEFA Conference Qualifiers in Gibraltar last night. pic.twitter.com/jeeDC3Z8fb
— HLTCO (@HLTCO) July 19, 2024
As per The Irish Independent, Shelbourne have been fined €21.25k for their chants along with the throwing of objects from the stands onto the pitch.
Shelbourne have been fined by UEFA after their fans chanted 'Gibraltar is Spanish' at Gibraltarian side St. Joseph's in their Europea Conference League qualifier. pic.twitter.com/6b3Yp8JR7O
— Football España (@footballespana_) July 28, 2024
The chants from Rodri and Morata drew outrage from the Gibraltarian Government, and UEFA are currently investigating the incident. The pair near caused a diplomatic incident between the British-owned territory and Spai, but it seems unlikely to cost them much in terms of a suspension.
