Whilst in no way denegrating serious stories, TheEye delights in trivia and is pleased to note that the Gibraltar Football Association has been notified by its Swiss lawyers of a ruling of the Swiss Supreme Court on 22nd December which favoured GFA’s application for UEFA membership.

This has been blocked in the past by Spain because the Victoria Stadium is on reclaimed land which Spain claims as not Gibraltar territory (British forces, as has been reported here before, built an airfield and a barracks by the border during the 1939 1-0 victory over Germany).

The border of Gibraltar was historically defined as a cannonball shot distance from the Rock.

Acting GFA chairman Leslie Asquez said: “As stated in a previous press release in late 2007, the GFA commenced a third case against UEFA before the Court of Arbitration for Sport as a result of the manner in which GFA’s application for membership was dealt with at the UEFA Congress and, as a consequence of which, resulted in the GFA’s application being refused. Since the case was commenced UEFA has engaged in a series of technical and procedural objection with a view of having the case dismissed without the merits of the GFA’s case being heard. The latest objections was to the effect that the Court of Arbitration for Sport did not have jurisdiction to hear the GFA case.

Asquez is, as one can see, a famously boring denizen of his parish.

The Court dismissed said objection last year but UEFA immediately appealed to the Swiss Supreme Court.

On 22nd December 2008 the Swiss Supreme Court dismissed UEFA’s case out of hand.

“This is good news as it means that the Court of Arbitration for Sport can now proceed to consider the merits of GFA’s third case against UEFA and had UEFA won the appeal it would have meant the end of the road for the GFA in terms of its application for membership. The GFA can therefore now continue with its long fight for membership.”

The Swiss getting involved? Eh? What’s the world coming to?

Readers of TheEye will be pleased to know that an EGM of the GFA will be held on 8th Jan but matters will be confined just to Rule 30.1 – and if any reader of this blog complains then sanctions may be taken. Clubs must nominate delegates before 7.00pm on Tuesday 6th and the office is open from 6–7pm. Outstanding fines must be paid before the meeting starts or the GFA will be grumpy.

TheEye has warned you.