I have both the events of the special and Gine from Minus as canon for my fanfic, but I concede the special isn't technically canon for the actual work and that doesn't stop me from making it so in my story. I kinda fell in love with Bardok's crew so I'm keeping them.
You can love the special all you like. Something not being canonical doesn’t mean you’re not allowed to enjoy it by any means. I myself enjoy a good bit of stuff that’s not canonical.
Although, technically Bardock’s crew actually do appear in the Broly movie.
And there’s really nothing saying they’re not members of his crew anymore either. Just that there are more members of it (including now Leek and Taro and, once upon a time, Gine). So really, they’re technically canon-compliant too, even if the events of the special are not.