Real Madrid responds to the "Ceuta shirts" incident

Real Madrid defended its players' rights to express their opinions freely after Kylian Mbappé and Vinícius Júnior sparked controversy by obscuring a message of solidarity with the residents of Ceuta before the team's match against Elche in La Liga on Tuesday.

Before the match kicked off at the Estadio de la Cerámica, players from both teams wore shirts bearing the slogan 'Todos somos Ceutíes,' a term used for the residents of Ceuta, which is under Spanish control.

However, Mbappé and Vinícius lifted their shirts to chest level, obscuring the message, before completely removing them as they exited the tunnel onto the pitch.

Their teammate Ibrahima Konaté simply held his shirt in his hands.

In recent weeks, there has been significant support in Spain for the residents of Ceuta, following the illegal entry of over 70,000 people from Morocco in July.

A Real Madrid official told Reuters that the club agreed to Elche's request to participate in this initiative by wearing the shirts, but insisted, out of respect for diverse opinions, to give each player the freedom to choose whether to participate or abstain.

Real Madrid had organized a fan event during its match against Italian side Inter Milan in the UEFA Champions League last week to support Ceuta, where fans held banners displaying the city's flag.

The Valencia Business Association led the initiative to wear the shirts, while Barcelona decided not to participate during its match against Levante on Sunday.

In a related context, Moroccan international Abdessamad Ezzalzouli faced abusive comments on social media for wearing the shirt before his team Real Betis's match against Villarreal on Monday.

Ezzalzouli responded with a statement affirming that he does not intend to apologize for his stance, emphasizing that the message was in support of a local community and a social issue, and did not contain any political implications.