Story perspectives

Mbappé removes Ceuta shirt after La Liga warning

By Drooid · Sep 17, 2026, 11:14 PM UTC · How we work

Summary

Story summary

Kylian Mbappé partially covered a Ceuta-solidarity shirt before the Elche match.
Mbappé, Vinícius Júnior and Ibrahima Konaté rolled up the shirt’s text, then removed it before handshakes.
Mbappé told Diario AS he fully supports Ceuta and wanted to honor suffering migrants.
La Liga president Javier Tebas said half-wearing the shirt equals not wearing it.
Around 70,000–72,000 migrants crossed into Ceuta on July 30-31, causing at least 80 deaths.

History

Historical Context

In 2015 a record 1.3 million people sought asylum in the EU, prompting Spain to seal the Ceuta frontier and Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy to tighten border controls. The surge sparked EU-wide debates and stricter policies, a legacy echoed today when footballers Mbappé, Vinícius Júnior and Konaté wore a Ceuta-solidarity shirt, drawing criticism from La Liga chief Javier Tebas.

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Story summary

Kylian Mbappé partially covered a Ceuta-solidarity shirt before the Elche match.
Mbappé, Vinícius Júnior and Ibrahima Konaté rolled up the shirt’s text, then removed it before handshakes.
Mbappé told Diario AS he fully supports Ceuta and wanted to honor suffering migrants.
La Liga president Javier Tebas said half-wearing the shirt equals not wearing it.
Around 70,000–72,000 migrants crossed into Ceuta on July 30-31, causing at least 80 deaths.

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