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Spain is ‘a close ally’ of Gibraltar football, conference told

Unite Union Press Call at the JMH(Photo John Bugeja) 23.03.17 Gibraltar Tony Woodhouse, a member of the Unite executive council in the UK, campaign relating to Ian McClusky. In pix Michael Netto

The Gibraltar Football Association counts the Spanish FA among “its closest allies” in both UEFA and FIFA, the President of the GFA said yesterday.
Michael Llamas, QC, who is also Gibraltar’s Attorney General, highlighted the “paradox” while addressing a conference on International Sports Law at the University of Gibraltar.
In a keynote address, Mr Llamas discussed the role of sports and politics in the Gibraltar FA’s UEFA and FIFA applications, which for years had been blocked by Spain.
Mr Llamas was a key member of the legal team that successfully represented the GFA in the court cases against both bodies before the Court of Arbitration for Sport.
In a preamble, Mr Llamas said: “I will be saying things about UEFA, FIFA and the Spanish FA which I felt at the time, but today our relationship with the three of them is absolutely excellent.”
“I have to speak nastily about them because that’s what happened, but that is without prejudice to the fact that today our relationship with all three, and in particular the Spanish FA, is fabulous,” he said.
“In fact my colleagues in the GFA who attend meetings on a regular basis keep on telling me that one of their closest allies both in UEFA and in FIFA is the Spanish FA, which is quite a paradox.”
Mr Llamas also highlighted the “excellent” relationships enjoyed by the GFA with other national associations including ones in Scotland, Wales, Ireland and Northern Ireland.
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