After the Ez Abde affair: Mbappé and Vinícius spark controversy with support shirts for Ceuta | Goal.com
Elche and Real Madrid took to the pitch at the Martínez Valero on Tuesday, in the sixth round of the Spanish league, wearing shirts in support of the city of Ceuta. Three prominent Real Madrid players were the exception.
According to the newspaper "Marca", Kylian Mbappé, Vinícius Júnior and Ibrahima Konaté each collected their shirts from Real Madrid's kit officer in the tunnel leading to the pitch.
Konaté carried his in his hands, while Mbappé and Vinícius draped theirs over their shoulders without displaying them fully. As soon as they reached the tunnel, they held back from showing the shirts off, and that drew attention before kick-off.
The shirt bore the slogan "We are all Caballas", an explicit show of support for the autonomous city of Ceuta, which saw a huge influx of Moroccans in late July.
During last week's Champions League clash with Inter, the Real Madrid supporters' association unveiled a huge tifo made up of Ceuta flags in the southern stand of the Santiago Bernabéu. A few hours earlier, the club had issued a statement denying any ban on showing support for the residents of the autonomous city.
Real Madrid had in fact already highlighted the Ceuta initiative on their official website. "Before the start of the match between Elche and Real Madrid, the players of both teams took to the pitch of the 'Manuel Martínez Valero' stadium wearing shirts bearing the phrase 'We are all Caballas', as an expression of solidarity with Ceuta," the statement read. That makes the stance of the trio, Mbappé, Vinícius and Konaté, all the more controversial.
Their stance follows the case of Moroccan Abdessamad Ezzalzouli. The Real Betis star wore a shirt in support of Ceuta before his side's match against Villarreal on Monday, which exposed him to a wave of criticism and insults from many Moroccans.
Ezzalzouli hit back in a statement on his Instagram account: "First, I would like to clarify one thing, which is that the shirt referring to the city of Ceuta was at no moment used for a political purpose or with the intention of showing contempt for a people, the Moroccan people".
He added: "This shirt had a social character, within the framework of supporting the residents and people of a region who were living through a difficult situation, regardless of their nationality".
He concluded: "But at the same time, this is not an apology to anyone, and anyone who wishes to exploit this matter to question my love for my country is free to do so. As for me, I will continue to live every day with my head held high, and I will continue to represent my roots with pride and sacrifice".
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