Key facts
- Real Madrid defended players' freedom of expression after Kylian Mbappe and Vinicius Jr. obscured a solidarity message for Ceuta.
- The message on the shirts read "Todos somos caballas" ("We are all mackerels"), a nickname for people from Ceuta.
- Mbappe and Vinicius Jr. rolled their shirts up to chest height before removing them entirely.
- Real Madrid accepted Elche's request for players to wear the solidarity shirts.
- The club respects differing opinions and gave players freedom to choose whether to wear the shirt.
Real Madrid has defended the right of players Kylian Mbappe and Vinicius Jr. to express differing opinions after they obscured a solidarity message for the people of Ceuta before Tuesday's LaLiga clash with Elche. Both teams had emerged wearing t-shirts that read "Todos somos caballas" ("We are all mackerels"), a nickname for residents of the Spanish territory of Ceuta. However, Mbappe and Vinicius Jr. rolled their shirts up to chest height, making the slogan unreadable, before removing them entirely as they exited the tunnel. Teammate Ibrahima Konate held his shirt in his hands. The show of support was prompted by over 70,000 irregular crossings into Ceuta from Morocco in July. A Real Madrid official told Reuters that the club accepted Elche's request to show solidarity but respects individual choices, granting players the freedom to decide whether or not to wear the shirt. Real Madrid had previously organized a tifo in support of Ceuta during their Champions League match against Inter Milan. The initiative for the t-shirts was promoted by the Valencian Business Association, while Barcelona opted not to wear them during their match against Levante.