Violence, politics and racism, when Kylian Mbappé takes a stand | OneFootball

Kylian Mbappé declined to display a T-shirt supporting the people of Ceuta before Elche’s La Liga game with Real Madrid. According to L'Équipe, Vinicius and Ibrahima Konaté also chose not to show the message about the enclave’s migration crisis with Morocco.

The France captain has often taken clear positions beyond football. In June 2023 he condemned violence after Nahel, 17, was shot by a police officer during a traffic stop in Nanterre.

As unrest spread, he and his France team-mates issued a July appeal for calm, urging mourning, dialogue and rebuilding. He had earlier condemned the 2021 assault on producer Michel Zecler by police, and in 2020 paid tribute to three gendarmes killed while helping a woman facing domestic violence.

In June 2024 he urged young people to vote in snap legislative elections, warning that extremes could come to power. After the first round, with the Rassemblement National on 29%, he voiced alarm and called the outcome catastrophic.

He has also challenged racism aimed at him or team-mates. After Euro 2021 he felt poorly supported by then FFF president Noël Le Graët amid abuse following his missed penalty against Switzerland, later saying he had complained of being insulted and called a monkey.

In February he defended Vinicius after alleged racist insults from Benfica forward Gianluca Prestianni. During the last World Cup he rebuked Paraguayan senator Celeste Amarilla after France’s last-16 win, saying on X he would not allow people like her to spread hate and racism.

Source: L'Équipe

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