Real Madrid fan group demands Mbappe apology for Ceuta shirt snub

Kylian Mbappé, Vinícius Júnior and Ibrahima Konaté drew criticism after appearing with a tribute T-shirt partially rolled up before Real Madrid's 3-2 La Liga victory at Elche. The shirt, bearing the slogan 'we are all Ceutans', was intended as a show of support for residents of the Spanish enclave of Ceuta following a recent migration crisis.

Ultras Sur, a Real Madrid supporters' group often associated with the far-right, issued a statement on X calling the players' conduct 'unacceptable' and saying that 'every Real Madrid supporter and every Spaniard is ashamed of the image given by these three individuals.' The group asked for public apologies and also criticised the silence of club president Florentino Pérez, with whom Ultras Sur has been at odds since being banned from the Santiago Bernabéu more than a decade ago.

La Liga president Javier Tebas also criticized the gesture, saying on Wednesday that 'putting it half on is the same as not wearing it.' The rest of the Real Madrid squad and the Elche players wore the T-shirt properly ahead of the match. Mbappé told the Spanish sports daily AS that he wanted to express solidarity with those who lost their lives and to make a gesture for migrants suffering difficult conditions.

The T-shirt referenced a humanitarian situation in Ceuta after tens of thousands of migrants arrived from Morocco on July 30 and 31. Most returned within hours, but several thousand remained, and residents have complained about migrants camping on beaches and sleeping in the streets. Authorities and human rights groups report deaths during attempted crossings; the Moroccan Association for Human Rights estimates at least 141 people died.