“We are all caballas.” That is the slogan that appeared on the shirts of a handful of footballers this Tuesday night at the Martínez Valero. But not all of them. Or not clearly. Three Real Madrid footballers, Vinicius, Mbappé, and Konaté, decided to distance themselves from the campaign of support and solidarity with the citizens of Ceuta following the migratory crisis experienced since the end of last July, when tens of thousands of people irregularly entered Ceuta, becoming the largest migratory crisis at the Spanish-Moroccan border since 2021. The three white footballers began to put on the shirt, just like their teammates, right before stepping onto the pitch. But they did not fully put it on, nor did they display the complete message. The three wore it just below that message: “We are all caballas.” And they took it off just seconds after greeting the opposing team. A clear sign that they wanted to distance themselves from the tribute.
It happened before the league match played between Elche and Real Madrid. All players from both teams came onto the pitch wearing white shirts, which had been distributed moments earlier in the locker room tunnel, with the slogan supporting the Ceuta population — caballa is the popular demonym for the people of Ceuta — and the coat of arms of the autonomous city on the back. The tribute, at the request of the local club, is part of a support campaign launched in recent days and which has already received backing, among others, from clubs like Betis.
The refusal of Vini, Mbappé, or Konaté, footballers socially and politically significant, is understood within the club as a personal decision. A source from Madrid attributes the reaction of the three to personal sensitivities, which in this case do not coincide with the club’s position, which welcomed Elche’s proposal.
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The movement “We are all caballas” has acquired a political and symbolic dimension due to the sensitivity surrounding Ceuta and the relations between Spain and Morocco. FC Barcelona, for example, refused, as an institution, to participate in this tribute both in Elche and in Valencia, during their recent visits to the stadiums of Elche and Levante. On the other hand, footballer Ez Abde, Moroccan international from Betis, received insults and threats on social media after participating in one of these support acts.
