A day after the controversy surrounding Abdessamad Ezzalzouli’s decision to openly wear a “TODOS SOMOS CABALLAS” shirt, the story has taken a new turn. Real Madrid has now defended Kylian Mbappé and Vinícius Júnior after the two players obscured the same message before Tuesday’s match against Elche, saying that players were free to express differing opinions.
Mbappé and Vinícius rolled their shirts up to chest height, making the message difficult to read, before removing them entirely as they left the tunnel. Their teammate Ibrahima Konaté also chose not to wear the shirt normally. The episode has since fueled a wider debate in Spain, with different interpretations of what the gesture represented and whether the players were fully endorsing the message.
The contrast with Ezzalzouli is striking. The Moroccan international, playing for Real Betis, displayed the message openly alongside his teammates. His decision immediately drew criticism from Moroccan social media users because the slogan invokes solidarity with occupied Ceuta, a Moroccan city that Morocco regards as being under Spanish occupation. For many Moroccans, that makes the gesture far more sensitive than a simple pre-match show of support.
What makes the latest development particularly notable is the difference between Ezzalzouli’s decision and the choices made by Mbappé and Vinícius. While the two Real Madrid stars chose to obscure the message, the Moroccan international chose to display it publicly and later defended his decision, saying the shirt was intended as a social message rather than a political statement. He also said he would not apologise. That explanation may clarify his personal intention, but it does not erase the national sensitivity of the Ceuta issue for Moroccans.
The episode has therefore moved beyond a pre-match shirt campaign. Ezzalzouli wore what others chose to hide—and for many Moroccans, that choice raises an uncomfortable question about the judgment of a player who represents Morocco on the international stage. At a moment when Mbappé and Vinícius chose not to publicly display the message, Ezzalzouli embraced it openly. Whatever his stated intention, his decision placed him on the wrong side of a deeply sensitive Moroccan national issue and has left many supporters questioning whether he fully understood the weight of what he was wearing.