After a thrilling La Liga matchday 6, where Real Madrid beat Elche 3-2, controversy started brewing in Spain after Real Madrid players Kylian Mbappé and Vinícius Júnior wore the T-shirts rolled up.
Ahead of the match at the Estadio Manuel Martínez Valero, the players of both teams wore white T-shirts with the slogan “Todos somos Caballas” meaning “we are all mackerels” a slogan indicating solidarity with the people of Ceuta, a Spanish territory in Africa.
The T-shirts were part of an initiative by the Valencian business association backed by La Liga. However, Real Madrid players Kylian Mbappè and Vinícius Júnior were seen wearing the T-shirt rolled up, obscuring the message and quickly took it off after the handshake with the rival team. Meanwhile, another Real Madrid player, Ibrahim Konatè, simply held the T-shirt in his hand, which also courted controversy in Spain.
Now, what exactly is happening in Ceuta, and why might the Real Madrid trio have refused to be a part of the initiative, is being discussed all over X and other social media.
Ceuta is an autonomous city in Spain on the North African coast, bordered by Morocco. Tensions between the Moroccan government and Spain started long before, for transferring sovereignty over Ceuta, Melilla and the plazas de Soberanía to Morocco.
But the Spanish government has clarified that Ceuta is an integral part of Spain and no transfer of the city is possible. The crisis started happening on July 30 and 31, when more than 70,000 migrants crossed into Ceuta from Morocco.
The majority of the migrants returned shortly after they arrived in Ceuta, but several thousand remain in the city, which has become a hot-button issue in Spain and for the government.
There has been an increase in the reported crimes caused by the migrants, mainly involving burglary, killing, violent brawls and unauthorised access to private homes.
Fans speculate that, due to their African roots, the three Real Madrid players have refused to be part of the initiative against another African country.
Kylian Mbappè having ancestry from Cameroon (father’s side) and Algeria ( mother’s side), while for Vini, a DNA test conducted by the Brazilian Football Federation and AfricanAncestry.com revealed that his ancestral roots trace back specifically to the Tikar tribe of Cameroon, and Konatè has direct West African roots. He was born and raised in Paris to immigrants from Mali.
All three players: Mbappé, Vini, and Konatè have held their previous stances, respectively, against racism and for diversity. With Vinícius Júnior, who already faced racism from Spanish football authorities and fans, which he publicly called out, a fraction of the fans believe his action is totally valid.
The incident has received mixed reactions from football enthusiasts and fans on social media, with some in support of the players and, on the other hand, criticising the players over their actions.
One of the comments says, “ Demanding that players with African backgrounds endorse a campaign that focuses solely on securing borders, ignoring the tragedy of migrants, is an absurd lack of empathy”.
While another fan commented, “ Nobody was asking for a speech. Just wearing the shirt properly would’ve been a pretty simple way to show solidarity”.
There are also comments backlashing at the players, pointing out their African roots and for being unaware of what is actually happening in Ceuta.
There are also neutral stances from fans who are highlighting why a football club has to show solidarity over a political issue that does not concern them and that La Liga should not use football players as pawns for a geopolitical issue.
Among these, another football player of Real Betis, Abdessamad Ezzalzouli (Ez Abde) from Morocco has received critical backlash from Moroccan nationalists and media for wearing the same t-shirt before a match the previous day.
However, none of the three players have yet responded to their decision to roll up the shirt or hold it in their hands. Real Madrid has not attached any significance to the incident, as the club believes all players are free to decide whether they want to endorse a campaign or not.
The t-shirts were also supplied in previous matches, including the one on Sunday, September 13, Levante UD vs. FC Barcelona.
Here, Levante’s players came out wearing the solidarity shirt.
However, FC Barcelona players completely opted out of the initiative and did not wear them at all, which fans are calling out now in defence of the Real Madrid players.
Jota Jordi, a well-known Spanish sports commentator and FC Barcelona fan, explained on the Spanish sports television show El Chiringuito TV that FC Barcelona refused to wear the Ceuta support jerseys at the Camp Nou because the club board and members view the initiative as carrying a politically charged Spanish nationalist message that directly conflicts with the club’s traditional Catalan identity and values.
Ultimately, the show concluded on the note that Barça, as a football club, views the matter as tied to Spanish politics and remains neutral in the matter.
Again, this has sparked arguments on X, where fans have commented on why this much hatred towards the Madrid players when a club like Barcelona FC decided to stay neutral.
Controversies aside, Real Madrid under Josè Mourinho has to take Atlètico Madrid next on 20th September, Sunday. They are currently in 2nd place in the La Liga points table after Barcelona FC.
The geopolitical tensions surrounding residents of Ceuta and Moroccan immigrants are of utmost importance for the well-being of mankind in general, whereas in a game of football, players have to choose sides and are not able to follow their personal perspective on an issue and think more than their performance in a game is putting them in a difficult situation, as fans on the internet underline.
