Gibraltar U17 forfeit all three matches and gets fined £2000

Having participated in Round One of the Under 17 qualifier which saw Gibraltar play against Slovakia, Cyprus and France last October, it was with some disappointment that Gibraltar’s decision not to play in the second round was met with.
Gibraltar was due to play this week in League B Group 3 against Latvia, Estonia and Montenegro.
The Gibraltar Under 17s were however, to miss out, and although still forming part of the group were to forfeit all three of their matches as Gibraltar did not turn up with a squad.
Officially Gibraltar was recorded as having lost all their matches 3-0. The group was eventually won by Estonia. Montenegro coming in second whilst Latvia recorded the one victory, that against Gibraltar for the match that was never played.
Sources close to Gibraltar’s youth side have indicated that Gibraltar’s decision was based on the fact the matches coincided with the GCSE exams of which the bulk of the team were taking forcing the withdrawal of the team from the competition.
According to official UEFA records the Gibraltar FA was fined £2000 on April 9th, with respect to the three matches under the “Refusal to play, Art. 28.01 of the Regulations of the UEFA European Under-17 Championship in conjunction with Article 27(1) DR.” The fine imposed prior to the matchdays and with Gibraltar already sanctioned with 3-0 defeats for each match.