FC Barcelona players have collectively refused to wear LaLiga-backed t-shirts promoting a political message on Sebta, drawing a clear line against the instrumentalization of football for colonial territorial claims.
The entire squad declined to don the garments carrying the slogans “Todos somos caballas” and references to Ceuta’s “Spanishness” before their match against Racing Santander.
Club sources described the initiative as a Spanish political matter that has no place on the pitch, consistent with Barcelona’s identity and values.
In a welcome show of principle, Real Madrid stars Kylian Mbappé and Vinicius Junior also chose not to fully display the same message, partially concealing or removing the t-shirts.
Their stance, defended by the club as a matter of individual freedom, stands in contrast to the campaign pushed by LaLiga.
The same cannot be said of Moroccan international Abdessamad Ezzalzouli. The Betis winger chose to wear the shirt and later attempted to downplay its political dimension, a move widely seen in Morocco as a cowardly failure to distance himself from a campaign that asserts Spanish occupation over Sebta.
His explanation that the gesture was merely “social” has done little to erase the symbolism. Those who truly need solidarity are the migrants caught in the crisis, not Spanish settlers in the colonial enclave of Ceuta.