REAL MADRID stars Kylian Mbappe and Vinicius Junior have found themselves in the middle of a supercharged political and social debate in Spain about migration and the country’s relations with Morocco.

The reason is their decision to cover up part of the message on a T-shirt in support for Ceuta — a small Spanish city located on the north African coast — that players for both Madrid and Elche were supposed to wear before their league game on Tuesday. Ceuta was overwhelmed by a mass crossing of some 80,000 people, mostly from neighbouring Morocco, in late July.

While Mbappe and Vinicius and teammate Ibrahima Konate put on the shirts, they wore them rolled up to their chests so that some of the words were obscured. They then removed their shirts before they shook hands with the Elche players and referees ahead of kick-off.

The players did not speak about it after the match, which Madrid won 3-2.

But their gesture has generated an outpouring of comments in Spanish media and social media, with some arguing that the players were showing solidarity with the plight of the migrants while others criticised them for not fully supporting the Spanish citizens of Ceuta. Others blamed the business group which organised the shirt initiative for putting the players on the spot.

Jorge Calabres, a journalist with the online newspaper El Espanol, wrote that “I am outraged by Mbappe, Vinicius and Konate. You are in Real Madrid, not just any club. Support for Ceuta is not a political or religious issue.”

Sports commentator Santiago Segurola backed the players.

“The businessmen behind this are idiots,” Segurola said on Onda Cero radio. “They are completely out of bounds and put the players in an awkward situation, making them position themselves. Now people are holding the players accountable.”

The shirts were made and distributed by a business association representing companies the eastern region of Valencia. La Liga said it approved the gesture in accordance with the standard procedure applicable to any ceremonial gesture before a match. Elche and Madrid also gave their approval.

Madrid said the shirts were to “show support for Ceuta,” which is still struggling to provide for several thousand migrants who remain the city.

The shirts read “Todos somos caballas,” which means in local Ceuta slang “We are all from Ceuta.”

Vinicius is used to being at the centre of social debates. The Brazilian has been at the heart of fierce debate in Spain about racism in football after he was repeatedly targeted with racist slurs by opposing fans.

Mbappe’s mother is of Algerian descent, while his father immigrated from Cameroon to France, where the striker was born in Paris.