Thirteen minutes into Sunday’s Madrid derby at the Metropolitano Stadium, a banner was unfurled in the south stand reading: “Ceuta es España. Ni se arruga, ni se tapa” — “Ceuta is Spain. It is neither rolled up, nor covered.” The slogan was a direct reference to Kylian Mbappé, Vinícius Júnior and Ibrahima Konaté, who had rolled up or quickly removed shirts bearing the message “Todos somos caballas” (“We are all mackerels”, a nickname for Ceuta residents) before Real Madrid’s match against Elche.
The campaign was launched on 11 September by the Asociación Valenciana de Empresarios (AVE), chaired by former interim Real Madrid president Vicente Boluda. Organisers described it as a gesture of solidarity with Ceuta’s residents and businesses after a mass arrival of migrants from Morocco, and as a message of “territorial and social cohesion in Spain”.
Spain’s Interior Ministry said around 72,000 people crossed into Ceuta on 30 and 31 July. Most later returned to Morocco, but estimates in mid-September put the number remaining in the city at between 8,300 and 10,000. The NGO Caminando Fronteras documented 141 deaths on both sides of the border in the immediate aftermath.
Mbappé said his gesture did not mean a lack of support for Ceuta. “I also wanted to think about all the people who are suffering, because in the end I am human and I don’t want to prioritise the suffering of one group over another,” he said.
Real Madrid said it respected each player’s freedom to take part. Barcelona and Real Sociedad chose not to wear the shirts at all. La Liga president Javier Tebas criticised the three Madrid players and insisted the campaign was not political. Spanish footballers’ union president David Aganzo argued that players needed to be properly informed about what they were being asked to wear.
At the derby, supporters from both clubs briefly united in chants of “Ceuta no se vende, Ceuta se defiende” before the usual rivalry resumed. Mbappé and Vinícius were also whistled when the starting line-ups were announced.
AD Ceuta president Luhay Hamido defended players’ right to decide for themselves. “We cannot force anyone to identify with a cause they do not understand,” he said, adding that footballers are sometimes handed shirts in the tunnel without a full explanation. He also stressed that migrants themselves “are not to blame”.
Spain coach Luis de la Fuente travelled to Ceuta with the World Cup trophy, declaring: “This is Spain, this is Ceuta.” Real Madrid president Florentino Pérez later visited the city, saying the trip had been planned weeks earlier.
The row has exposed how quickly a humanitarian crisis on Spain’s North African border can spill onto the pitch, leaving clubs, players and fans caught between solidarity, politics and personal conscience.