Real Madrid superstar Kylian Mbappe said on Wednesday that he wanted to make a gesture in support of immigrants who had lost their lives by not wearing a t-shirt in support of the people of Ceuta properly.
Real Madrid players Mbappe, Vinicius Junior and Ibrahima Konate were criticised, including by La Liga president Javier Tebas, for wearing the t-shirt partially rolled up ahead of their La Liga win over Elche on Tuesday.
The rest of the team and Elche players wore the t-shirt, which brandished the words "we are all Ceutans", normally, which was intended to be a message of support for people in the Spanish territory in north Africa, which recently has been affected by a migration crisis.
Residents have complained about migrants from Morocco camping on beaches and sleeping in the streets, with the city overwhelmed amid a humanitarian crisis. Scores of people died while attempting the crossing in July.
The Moroccan Association for Human Rights, a non-governmental group, estimates the death toll to be at least 141.
"The first thing I want to say is that I have complete solidarity with Ceuta and all the victims, because before being a player, I am human," Mbappe told Spanish daily AS.
"But I also wanted to make a gesture and express my thoughts for all the immigrants who have lost their lives and who are also living in difficult conditions."
Tens of thousands of migrants arrived in Ceuta from Morocco on July 30 and 31. Most of them returned in the hours following their arrival, but several thousand remained in Ceuta.
Mbappe said he intended to send a "message of peace" and reiterated he did not mean the gesture as disrespect for residents of Ceuta.
"It wasn't an easy position, a difficult one, because in the end people might think I'm against the people of Ceuta, but no, absolutely not," continued Mbappe.
"I have nothing against them, and I support them 100 percent. But I also wanted to think about all the people who are suffering, because ultimately I'm human, and I don't want to prioritise suffering."
TEBAS CRITICISM
Earlier, Tebas said that wearing the t-shirt rolled up was the same as refusing to wear it altogether.
"We saw three players decide not to wear it -- putting it half on is the same as not wearing it... bad, bad," Tebas told reporters.
The initiative for the teams to wear the shirts came from a group of entrepreneurs from the Valencia region. Tebas said that it had been approved but not organised by La Liga and was "not a political act of any type".
La Liga teams playing matches not involving clubs from the Valencia region have not been wearing the top.
The president of Real Madrid's Ceuta fan club, Miguel Angel Montano, said he was disappointed by the decision from the trio not to wear the tops properly.
"We were very happy to see (players) wearing the t-shirts, because we need support, but we were baffled when we saw that these three players covered up the message," Montano told Spanish radio station esRadio earlier on Wednesday.
Villarreal hosted Real Betis on Monday and both sets of players wore the t-shirts supporting Ceuta, while Levante players wore the top before their game against champions Barcelona on Sunday, but the Catalan side elected not to use it.
Real Betis and Morocco winger Abde Ezzalzouli defended himself on social media on Tuesday after he was criticised for wearing the t-shirt.
"I want to make one thing clear -- at no point was the t-shirt referring to the people of Ceuta used with a political objective or out of contempt for my people, the Moroccan people," said Ezzalzouli in a post on Instagram.
The former Barcelona winger described it as a social gesture in support of the population of the city "regardless of their nationality".