Vinicius, Mbappé and Konaté shirt stunt sparks political storm | OneFootball

What began with a badly worn shirt has ended up reaching Congress. The decision by Vinicius, Kylian Mbappé and Ibrahima Konaté to not display, like their teammates, the slogan “We are all caballas” before Elche-Real Madrid has sparked a political storm in which positions do not exactly follow the usual division into blocs.

The three footballers came out at the Martínez Valero with their shirts rolled up so that the message was cut off. Vinicius and Mbappé also took theirs off before the formal greeting, while their teammates and the Elche players continued wearing them. None of the three has publicly explained their reasons, although a source close to one player told L'Equipe that they only found out they had to wear that shirt in the tunnel itself and had to make a snap decision.

From the PP, parliamentary spokesperson Ester Muñoz said that the image made her feel “quite a lot of second-hand embarrassment” and demanded an explanation from the footballers. In Vox, José María Figaredo recalled that they have the right to decide which messages they support, but contrasted that freedom with the public’s right to criticize players who live and build their careers in Spain.

The reaction had begun earlier on social media. Rafael Núñez Huesca, secretary for studies and training of the Madrid PP, described what happened as an “ugly, cold, ungrateful and even classist gesture” and added: “As a Madrid fan, I feel total and absolute shame.”

And former Vox MP Víctor Sánchez del Real turned to marine life: “It’s clear that we are all caballas, except Vinicius and Mbappé, who are a couple of hake. Nobility and all that.”

The left is not speaking with one voice

On the other side of the parliamentary aisle, the response has been different. Alberto Ibáñez, a Compromís MP within Sumar, has defended the need to respect the footballers’ freedom of expression. Gerardo Pisarello, of the Comuns, also suggested that the players may have seen a political use being made of the initiative. These are the two politicians’ interpretations: Mbappé, Vinicius and Konaté still have not publicly explained why they acted that way.

The Government has not wanted to join in the condemnation either. Education, Vocational Training and Sports Minister Milagros Tolón placed it in the realm of personal decision, while Health Minister Mónica García defended solidarity with Ceuta but rejected turning the episode into political ammunition.

However, the left does have a dissenting voice. Pablo Gómez Perpinyà, former Más Madrid spokesperson in the Assembly and former senator, was even harsher than some conservative leaders. He noted that Madrid players usually wear Emirates sponsorship and, after contrasting that with their refusal to show solidarity with the people of Ceuta, dismissed the three with a single word: “Buffoons.”

For now, then, the “shirt affair” has not managed to bring the parties into agreement. But it has achieved something perhaps more difficult: for a few hours, scrambling the usual trenches. A badly worn shirt that barely lasted a few seconds on the pitch has already spent much longer making its way through the corridors of politics.

This article was translated into English by Artificial Intelligence. You can read the original version in 🇪🇸 here.