Lamine Yamal and Mbappe drawn into Liga shirt row

Barcelona chose a collective withdrawal from a Liga shirt initiative after Lamine Yamal was reportedly unwilling to wear it. The decision kept the young player from facing the backlash alone and prevented him from becoming the sole target of online abuse linked to the message.

Kylian Mbappe, Ibrahima Konate and Vinicius Junior did wear the shirts, but pulled them up to cover much of the wording. Mbappe later explained that he wanted to show solidarity with Ceuta and its victims while also expressing support for migrants who had died or were living in difficult conditions. He said the position had been difficult to communicate and insisted that his gesture was not directed against the people of Ceuta.

The initiative was organised in support of Ceuta’s residents by the Association of Entrepreneurs of the Valencia region. Barcelona was the only club whose players did not take part. The episode also placed Yamal at the centre of a sensitive debate because he is an international player for Spain and has Moroccan nationality through his father.

The controversy has already extended beyond Barcelona and Real Madrid. Morocco international Abde Ez was criticised at home for wearing the shirt, while national coach Mohamed Ouahbi defended him as having made an awkward mistake rather than acting against Morocco.