Mbappe, Vini and Konate obscure Real’s Ceuta message

Kylian Mbappe, Vinicius Jr and Ibrahima Konate concealed the support message for Ceuta on their pre-game T-shirts during Real Madrid's match at Elche. Ceuta is a Spanish autonomous city near the North African coast, separated from Spain by the Strait of Gibraltar. Both teams wore shirts with the message "Todos somos caballas" - meaning "We are all Ceutans" - on them.

While most players fully wore the shirts, Mbappe, Vinicius, and Konate rolled theirs up around chest height, obscuring part of the slogan. Mbappe and Vinicius took off their shirts before the handshake, while Konate kept his on longer. Their actions drew criticism from La Liga president Javier Tebas, who stated that "deciding not to wear it, even half-on, is the same as not wearing it… bad, bad."

The initiative to support Ceuta was approved by La Liga and not a political act. Real Madrid has previously shown support for the city before their Champions League match against Inter Milan. The gesture was part of a larger effort to support Ceuta following a major migration crisis in the city, where thousands of migrants crossed from Morocco.

Despite most migrants returning, around 5,000 remain in makeshift camps or on the streets and beaches, leading to unrest in Ceuta. Other teams, like Barcelona, did not participate in the initiative, while players in other La Liga matches wore the shirts as intended.