Real Madrid defend Mbappe, Vinicius after Ceuta shirt controversy

Real Madrid have defended Kylian Mbappe and Vinicius Junior after the forwards obscured a solidarity message for the people of Ceuta before Tuesday’s LaLiga clash with Elche.

A Real Madrid official told Reuters that the club accepted Elche’s request for both teams to wear shirts in solidarity with Ceuta, but respected differing opinions within the organisation and gave each player the freedom to decide whether or not to wear the shirt.

The players emerged before the match wearing shirts bearing the message, “Todos somos caballas” — “We are all mackerels” — with caballas being a nickname for people from Ceuta.

However, Mbappe and Vinicius rolled their shirts up to chest height, making the message illegible, before removing them completely as they left the tunnel.

Real Madrid defender Ibrahima Konate also obscured the message by holding his shirt in his hands rather than wearing it fully.

The show of solidarity followed more than 70,000 irregular crossings from Morocco into Ceuta in July, prompting support movements across Spain.

The episode has highlighted differing positions among players and clubs over the campaign. Barcelona opted not to wear the shirts during their LaLiga clash with Levante on Sunday, while players at other matches had worn them as intended.

Real Madrid, however, said its position was to respect individual choices after accepting Elche’s request to participate in the initiative.

The club had already shown support for Ceuta before Tuesday’s fixture, with Madrid supporters displaying placards featuring the territory’s flag during their Champions League match against Inter Milan at the Santiago Bernabeu last week.

The initiative to wear the shirts was promoted by the Valencian Business Association.

The controversy also comes after Real Betis forward Ez Abde, a Moroccan international, faced social media backlash after wearing the same shirt before his side’s match against Villarreal.

Abde said he would not apologise, insisting the message was intended to support a community and social cause rather than make a political statement. Real Betis and LaLiga subsequently expressed support for the player.

Meanwhile, Mbappe scored as Real Madrid survived a second-half collapse to beat Elche 3-2 on Tuesday.

Madrid raced into a 2-0 lead through an own goal and Mbappe before Elche levelled through Abiel Osorio and Fer Nino.

Substitute Carlos Espi then scored in stoppage time to secure the victory for Jose Mourinho’s side, which moved level with Barcelona on 15 points at the top of LaLiga.