Mbappé and Vinícius do not display the message in support of Ceuta, social networks explode: "Leave Spain"

Mbappé, Vinicius and Konaté were hit by a wave of harsh criticism on social media, which went as far as insults, after their decision not to display a legible message of support for the residents of Ceuta, the Spanish enclave in Morocco, which is facing the emergency caused by thousands of migrants. "Leave Spain", "Real Madrid must take action", "Their contracts must be terminated immediately": these are some of the messages that reflect the opinion of those who followed the scene live, which took place before the start of the La Liga match, won 3-2 by Mourinho's team tonight at the Elche field.

Gesture of support for Ceuta residents promoted by La Liga this week

The solidarity initiative called for players from both teams to enter the pitch at the Martinez Valero stadium before the start of the match wearing a special white jersey with the words “Todos somos Caballas”, meaning “We are all Caballas”. This is the nickname of the inhabitants of Ceuta, an autonomous Spanish city located in North Africa. The gesture was an act of support for the local residents after the immigration crisis last July, when over 70,000 people from Morocco entered the city in two days. Even today, thousands of immigrants remain in Ceuta, creating tensions and protests from residents, in a complicated humanitarian situation.

Mbappé, Vinicius and Konaté decide not to display the message on their shirts

Other La Liga teams had already made the same gesture in previous days and everything seemed to be going well even before Elche-Real, until three players were seen "distancing" from the message. Kylian Mbappé, Vinicius Junior and Ibrahima Konaté (the French center-back who arrived in Madrid from Liverpool this summer) wore the shirt when they left the locker room tunnel, but in a different way than the others: they placed it so that the message was only partially visible, raising it to the middle and covering most of the writing.

Mbappé and Vinicius took it off a little later, before shaking hands with their opponents, holding it in their hands. The rest of the Real team and all the Elche players, on the other hand, showed it in full. The images circulated immediately and became news precisely because of the contrast with their teammates.

The reason for the gesture and the harsh criticism: "It's shameful"

There has not yet been an official explanation from the three players, but it does not require much imagination to understand that, apparently, Mbappé, Vinicius and Konaté are closer to the cause of immigrants than to that of the inhabitants of Ceuta, or in any case they do not intend to position themselves strongly on an issue where suffering spares no one.

"It's shameful, it's inexcusable," is the unstoppable stream of comments from those demanding their immediate expulsion from Spain. And of course, this issue will not remain only in the footage broadcast live on Spanish television.