Champions League: “I didn’t know what that referred to”, Ibrahima Konaté explains the Ceuta t-shirt controversy

“I didn’t really understand what was written on the jersey so I couldn’t take a position.” On the eve of the reception of RB Leipzig in the Champions League, this Wednesday (9 p.m.), Ibrahima Konaté had to explain himself on a completely different ground.

Questioned this Tuesday at a press conference, the Real Madrid defender returned to his choice to hide the inscription “We are all Ceutians”, before the victory against Elche (3-2), on September 15. Like Kylian Mbappé and Vinicius Junior, the French international had hidden this message of support for the inhabitants of Ceuta, a Spanish enclave located in the north of Morocco, at the heart of migratory tensions.

Faced with the questions raised by this gesture, the former Liverpool player assured that it was not a deliberate position. “I didn’t know what that referred to and I didn’t know what to do. [...] Later I learned what happened in Ceuta and I understand both points of view.

“My parents are from Africa”

To explain his sensitivity to this issue, Konaté relied on his family history. “You must also understand that I come from France but my parents are from Africa. I think a lot of people are in the same situation as me and there’s a good part and a bad part to that.”

The Frenchman also spoke of the need to punish certain behaviors: “I know of course that people sometimes come to do harm in the country where they arrive and they deserve to be punished.”

“I came to Madrid to play football, that’s all”