Kylian Mbappe and Vinicius Jr drawn into Real Madrid political storm after refusing to wear pre-match t-shirt

KYLIAN MBAPPE, Vinicius Jr and former Liverpool defender Ibrahima Konate have been drawn into a political storm after a pre-match t-shirt snub. All the players in Real Madrid’s LaLiga game at Elche on Tuesday night were asked to wear t-shirts supporting the people of Ceuta. Vinicius Jr and Kylian Mbappe both wore their t-shirts half rolled up Credit: Shutterstock Editorial Ibrahima Konate also joined the protest Credit: Reuters The Spanish enclave on the North African coast has been the centre of violence after some 80,000 migrants crossed the border from Morocco in July. Under a LaLiga initiative, the majority of clubs had worn the t-shirts – bearing the slogan “Todos somos caballas”, or “we are all mackerels”, the nickname for inhabitants of the city – although Barcelona had not taken part. Sign up for the Football newsletter Thank you! But while all the Elche players and eight of the Madrid starters wore the clothing before the kick-off – Real won 3-2 with a stoppage-time goal from Carlos Espi – the trio staged their own protest when they were handed the tops in the tunnel. Vini Jr, Mbappe and Konate all wore their shirts rolled down to only half-way, obscuring the message. That saw a backlash with some politicians accusing the Madrid players of showing contempt for Spain. Jose Maria Figaredo, spokesperson for the populist Vox party, said: “These three players are perfectly free to do and defend whatever causes they want. “But the Spanish people are also perfectly free to feel outraged by three millionaires who live in Spain and then don’t support the Spanish people.” Ester Munoz of the opposition People’s Party – currently leading election polls – said she believed the trio had failed to “defend Spain”. Most read in Sport BEST ONLINE CASINOS – TOP SITES IN THE UK Thousands of migrants crossed into Ceuta from Morocco earlier this year Credit: Reuters She added: “I believe it’s a humanitarian issue and they will have to explain why. To be honest, I felt quite embarrassed for them.” The issues saw members of the socialist government talking of “personal decisions” and that “sport is sport and the values of sport must never be lost” and accusing opposition voices of “twisting” the situation. While the left-wing Sumar party said: “Helping Ceuta cannot be used to divide based on national identity sensitivities or even to incite racism.” Real backed the players despite the furore, with sources insisting that while Madrid agreed to Elche’s request for them to wear the shirts in solidarity, the club “respects individual opinions” and gave players the freedom to decide if they would participate. Comment now