Real Madrid fans in the south end of the Santiago Bernabéu stadium in Madrid, Spain held up cards displaying the coat of arms of the autonomous city of Ceuta during the UEFA Champions League league phase game against the Italian club Internazionale on Tuesday, 8 September.
Ceuta, which is a Spanish enclave city on the African continent surrounded by Moroccan territory, has been living in a migrant crisis since late July. Since then, around 60,000–80,000 illegal migrants have crossed over to the city from Africa, causing major public safety concerns for the locals. In the latest development, a large group of migrants has been attempting to reach mainland Spain by rowing across the Mediterranean Sea on inflatable boats.
The left-wing socialist government of Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez of Spain has been accused of not doing enough to curb the crisis in Ceuta.
Real Madrid fans have shown solidarity with the Ceuta locals during their struggles, as noted in a post on the legendary football club’s official website. The post also notes that, on top of the fans in the south end of the stadium who held up the city’s crest, ‘the rest of the stadium joined in the recognition with a round of applause’.
Interestingly, however, X users are not as enthused and united about the issue as the fans in the stadium. Under a post shared by the Spanish-language account of DAZN Fútbol, some call for Ceuta to be returned to Portugal (it was part of Portuguese territory from 1415 to 1640); while others accuse Real Madrid fans of being ‘Nazis’, sharing a clip of some fans allegedly chanting antisemitic messages.
The majority of the Spanish population supports aiding Ceuta during its migrant crisis. However, its cause is still mainly championed by the Spanish right-wing populist party Vox, part of the Patriots for Europe group in the European Parliament.
Madrid is a uniquely right-wing capital in Europe. It is an electoral stronghold of the centre-right Partido Popular (People’s Party, PP) in opposition to PM Sánchez’s Partido Socialista Obrero Español (Spanish Socialist Workers’ Party, PSOE), while Vox has around 10 per cent support in the city. Hence, it is no surprise that fans of the most popular football club in the metropolitan centre would show opposition to mass illegal migration.
Real Madrid Beat Inter amidst Ceuta Show of Support
As for the actual game, Real Madrid won the game 2–1 against Inter, and thus kicked off their new UCL campaign with a victory.
The home side gained a two-goal advantage by the 23rd minute, with Kylian Mbappé and Federico Valverde exploiting a defensive and a goalkeeper error, respectively. Inter pulled one by in the second half—Carlos Augusto found the net in the 77th minute—but it was not enough for the Italian side.
José Mourinho led Inter to the Champions League title in 2010, with Cristian Chivu among his players in that title-winning squad. Now, 16 years later, Chivu is at the helm of Inter himself, adding a special layer to the recent UCL clash between Real Madrid and Inter.
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