Gibraltar national team departure shrouded in controversy whilst Lithuania prepared for clash days ahead

Gibraltar face a crucial Nations League relegation playoff first leg match this Thursday when they face Lithuania.
The match, which saw a 26-man squad depart for Faro this Sunday is seen as a historic match for Gibraltar football in which they could assert their status if they were to succeed in remaining in League C, contrary to all expectations. Gibraltar seen as the underdogs as they prepare for Thursday’s first leg match.
The departure of the Gibraltar national team however, was shrouded in controversy.
As the national squad departed for Faro, Portugal in preparation for their first leg match against Lithuania, revelation by this newspaper that clubs had refused to release players for international duty have been received with concern by players and parents of youth players affected by the decision.
Latest reports emerging from within circles close to the Gibraltar national team camp have revealed that some players who have joined the national squad preparations first became aware of the league club’s decision this Sunday, having assumed that their late call up on Friday was merely part of the preparation plans.
Although the Gibraltar Football Clubs decision is understood to have been made sometime in February, with clubs making their concerns known to the Gibraltar FA through a letter understood to have been signed by all clubs, no official communication is understood to have been given to players directly as to the decision with the Gibraltar FA having respected the decision by clubs and only requested that the travel plans be respected due to the financial implications of having to make new arrangements.
This leading to players released on Sunday to travel as the national squad, even though the FIFA regulations in the Status and Transfer of Players concerning the release of player for international call ups spans only from March 18th to March 26th.
The decision by clubs is also understood to have affected an ongoing policy head coach Julio Ribas has been using during preparations for internationals in which youth players, from the Under 21s and below have been included in the initial training sessions prior to final selection. This at times seeing forty plus players joining in the sessions.
This providing players with an opportunity to experience national squad preparations, whilst also affording younger players with an opportunity to showcase themselves in front of selectors. Something which has in the past seen players selected into the final squads.
The latest decision by clubs has seen a number of parents express their concerns at the decision which has prevent young players from these, with clubs under fire over their decision.
Officials privately expressing the hope that the latest controversy will not place a dark cloud over the play-offs and will see supporters backing their team as they prepare to compete to stay in League C.
Notably, whilst Gibraltar’s national team players have had over a week without football, in some cases without any training with their own clubs, their opponents Lithuania are known to have been preparing for Thursday’s match for some time.
Lithuania announced their squad on the 13th March, days ahead of Gibraltar. Lithuania selectors already having been able to assess their players before deciding on the squad that would be travelling for the first leg match.
Lithuania will see some new faces making their debut alongside some veterans returning. Hegelmann footballer Matas Vareika is among the debutants. The footballer played for Zalgiris Vilnius before moving to the kaunas district team where he scored in the very first match.
Giedrius Matulevičius also returns to the national team after a long break not having been selected since the summer of 2022. Lithuania will travel with a 24-man squad.
Lithuania head coach has described his team as the favorites but has warned about underestimating his opponents, Gibraltar.
Commenting through the official Lithuania FA website he said, “Jankauskas was pleased that the team is returning to official fights again and emphasized that it must be recognized that Lithuania is the favorites in this pair.
"The break was quite long, we had time to prepare and gather information about our opponents. I am very concerned that there might be an underestimation of our opponents, and I believe that in our profession, this is an unforgivable thing that can cost us dearly.
Of course, we are the favorites in this matchup, there's no need to beat around the bush. We have to defeat this team, but it won't be easy. We have reviewed many of their matches and conducted a thorough analysis of our opponents.
We need to assess the opponent, play our game, identify their weaknesses, and exploit them.
It's encouraging that our players are in good form; most of them have become key players for their clubs abroad. While the A league is still in the early stages, matches are played on artificial turf. We will have the opportunity to play on grass, so there's a greater chance that we'll see players on the field who are in optimal athletic form, having played in foreign championships.
Of course, all the players on the squad are ready; everyone has the opportunity to play and be in the starting lineup. There will be two matches, so we place a lot of hope in the players and the A league," said the coach.

The full composition of the team for the match against Gibraltar team:
Goalkeepers
Vytautas Černiauskas (FK "Panevėžys"), Edvinas Gertmon (FC "Universitatea Cluj", Romania), Emilijus Zubas ("Hapoel Tel Aviv", Israel);
Defenders
Markas Beneta (FK "Panevėžys"), Edvinas Girdvainis (SV "Sandhausen", Germany), Cyprus Kažukolov (FC "Astana", Kazakhstan), Linas Klimavičius (FK "Panevėžys"), Justas Lasickas (NK "Olimpija Ljubljana", Slovenia), Rokas Lekiatas (FC "U Craiova 1948", Romania), Pijus Širvys (NK "Maribor", Slovenia), Claudijus Upst (FC "Hegelmann"), EdgarAs Utkus ("Cercle Brugge" KSV, Belgium);
Safety
Artūr Dolžnikov (FK "Kauno Žalgiris"), Gvidas Gineitis ("Torino" FC, Italy), Paulius Golubickas (FK "Žalgiris"), Giedrius Matulevičius (FK "Žalgiris"), Arvydas Novikov (Tuzlaspor, Turkey), Daniel Romanovskij ("Dynamo Tbilisi", Georgia), Vykintas Slivka (FC "Lamia", Greece), Matas Vareika (FC "Hegelmann"), Ovidijus Verbickas (FK "Žalgiris"),
Strikers
Fedor Černych ("Kerala Blasters" FC, India), Armandas Kučys (FK "Kauno Žalgiris"), Gytis Paulauskas ("Kolos Kovalivka", Ukraine).