Lamine Yamal’s stance influenced Barcelona’s decision over Ceuta support shirts

Barcelona’s decision not to take part in a campaign supporting the city of Ceuta was influenced by Lamine Yamal’s reluctance to wear the designated shirt, reports say.

The club had been considering joining the initiative before Wednesday evening’s La Liga match against Racing Santander, according to the French-language edition of the Moroccan website Le360.

However, Barcelona were informed that the young forward did not want to wear the shirt, which carried the message “Todos somos Caballas” – “We are all Caballas”.

The report says the club subsequently decided against involving the entire squad in the campaign. Barcelona wanted to avoid placing Yamal in particular at risk of criticism or racist abuse on social media.

The decision came after controversy surrounding Real Madrid’s match against Elche. Kylian Mbappe, Ibrahima Konate and Vinicius Junior lifted their shirts in a way that made the slogan less visible than it was on the shirts of their team-mates.

The actions of the three players prompted a wave of reaction and criticism. Real Madrid later confirmed that each player was free to decide whether or not to take part in the initiative.

Abdessamad Ezzalzouli, the Morocco international, also faced severe criticism after wearing a Ceuta support shirt alongside his Real Betis team-mates before their match against Villarreal.

The issue is particularly sensitive in relation to Yamal, who was born in Spain to a Moroccan father and a mother from Equatorial Guinea.

Yamal had been close to representing Morocco at international level but chose Spain instead. He has since become one of the world’s leading players at a young age after winning the World Cup and the European Championship.

The reports indicate that Barcelona’s position was therefore shaped not only by concerns over the potentially political interpretation of the campaign’s message, but also by the club’s desire to protect Yamal from the reaction that could follow his participation.