It was not the good performance of Güler and Diomande. Nor the slump in the second half of Real Madrid. Not even the saving goal for the whites by Espí in added time. The most talked-about topic after the match at Martínez Valero, ended with Mourinho’s team winning, has been the gesture before the game by Mbappé, Vinícius, and Konaté, who hid the message on the shirt in support of Ceuta. The Elche players and the rest of the Madrid starting eleven did join the cause. However, the two Frenchmen and the Brazilian entered the pitch with the fabric folded, so that the front part was not clearly visible, and quickly took off the shirt.
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“We are all caballas. Ceuta and its sea knights,” said the slogan on a garment that is part of a solidarity campaign promoted by the Valencian Business Association (AVE) chaired by Vicente Boluda, former president of Real Madrid. Since it is a Valencian initiative, which has been supported by LaLiga, the shirt was also worn by Villarreal and Betis players before the match at La Cerámica, and Levante also wore it at Ciutat de València before facing Barça, who chose not to join the cause.
Madrid defended the freedom of its players and pointed to Barça, while Tebas criticized the gesture
As is often the case, no Real Madrid player spoke after the match, but Mbappé shed light in an interview with As. “I have all the solidarity with Ceuta and with all the victims. Because before being a player, I am human. But I also wanted to have a gesture and a thought for the immigrants who have lost their lives and who are in harsh conditions,” explained the Frenchman, who did not want to “prioritize the suffering” of some over others and tried to convey a “message of positivity and peace.”
Mbappé’s explanations, still awaiting those of Vinícius and Konaté, came after a very polarized media debate was created. Real Madrid, which supported the campaign as an institution, reminded that the club “is a group of people, but not of a single opinion,” and defended its players by assuring that “each one has their opinions and sensitivities.” The Madrid message conveyed to the media also included their eternal rival in the equation. “I want to remind that Barcelona refused as an institution to do it against Levante,” conveyed the club chaired by Florentino Pérez, which has seen this jab at the blaugrana reflected in various media in recent hours. Barça, for its part, showed its respect for the Valencian businessmen’s campaign and defended its position appealing to the freedom of expression of both those who manifest and those who do not, according to La Vanguardia.
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The position of Mbappé, Vinícius, and Konaté caused a stir in the football, political, and journalistic fields before hearing the words of the one from Bondy. Some respected the gesture, while many expressed their rejection. “I think it is very wrong. It is a club act. The player has to come out with the shirt,” said LaLiga president Javier Tebas. However, the president of the Spanish Footballers Association (AFE), David Aganzo, understood the players: “It is a matter of coordination and information, but there is freedom of expression. I think they did not have all the information.”
I think it is very wrong. It is a club act. The player has to come out with the shirt”
Javier Tebas
President of LaLiga
The controversy even reached Congress. “It is a personal decision. Sport is sport and the values of sport must never be lost,” commented in passing the Minister of Education and Sport, Milagros Tolón. “It made me cringe,” criticized, for her part, the PP spokesperson in Congress, Ester Muñoz. Many have ventured to speculate about the unknown reasons of Mbappé, Vinícius, and Konaté, who for now remain silent.
