Vinicius, Mbappé and Konaté avoid showing Ceuta solidarity message before Elche clash

On Tuesday, September 15, ahead of the La Liga match between Elche and Real Madrid at the Martínez Valero stadium, both teams walked onto the pitch wearing shirts reading "Todos somos caballas" ("We are all caballas" — a nickname for residents of Ceuta), in a show of solidarity with the Spanish autonomous city on the North African coast. However, three Real Madrid players — Vinicius Júnior, Kylian Mbappé and Ibrahima Konaté — avoided displaying the message. According to MARCA, a kit staffer handed the players the shirts in the tunnel, but Konaté simply carried his in his hands, while Mbappé and Vinicius draped theirs over their shoulders without fully unfolding them over their chests. When greeting Elche's players, they took the shirts off entirely, appearing in their regular Real Madrid kit, as El Mundo reported.

Club's response

Real Madrid officially confirmed on its website that players from both squads took to the pitch before kick-off wearing the Ceuta solidarity shirts. El Mundo reports that sources close to the club privately explained that within the dressing room there exist "different opinions, sensitivities and views of reality." The shirt initiative reportedly came from Elche and was accepted by Real Madrid, which said it respected the three players' decision not to display the message. The episode drew significant criticism on social media. A columnist for El Debate pointed out that Real Madrid's honorary president, José Martínez "Pirri," who was born in Ceuta, was watching the match from the stands, calling the situation particularly awkward. It is not the first such controversy in Spanish football: El Mundo notes that Real Betis winger Ez Abde recently faced criticism from Moroccan fans after displaying a similar Ceuta-support shirt, while in an earlier Levante–Barcelona match, Barcelona did not join Levante's gesture of support for Ceuta.

Wider context

The controversy comes against the backdrop of a mass entry of Moroccan migrants into Ceuta at the end of July, an event that has also strained relations between Spain and Italy. As El Constitucional reports, Italy has extended border controls on travelers from Spain by another 15 days, until October 8, citing potential security risks. Spain's Foreign Minister José Manuel Albares called the decision "absurd, useless and a disgrace," noting that of more than 180,000 travelers identified by Italian authorities in August, only 31 were denied entry.