AD Ceuta lost 0-2 to UD Las Palmas at the Alfonso Murube stadium in LaLiga Hypermotion, Spain's second division, with goals from Miyashiro and Fuster, but the match was overshadowed by a political protest staged by both clubs before kickoff.
Ceuta and Melilla are Spanish autonomous cities on the North African coast that Morocco has long claimed as its own territory. Home fans at the Alfonso Murube waved Spanish flags and sang the national anthem as the flag was projected onto the stadium's video screens. Juan Vivas, president of the Autonomous City of Ceuta, walked onto the pitch wearing a Ceuta shirt and was given an ovation, though some supporters in the stands shouted for the resignation of the government's local delegate.
The shirt that changed everything
In the first minute, both teams walked out wearing special shirts printed with the slogan "Ceuta is not for sale. Ceuta defends itself," a gesture the match officials joined as well. The initiative came from Ceuta's players, and the sight of both squads standing together at kickoff turned the Alfonso Murube into a political stage.
UD Las Palmas's involvement was not a formality. Rumours had circulated before the match that the Gran Canaria club might pull out of the gesture for fear of reprisals while travelling through Moroccan territory. The club's strategy was deliberate: show no shirt and make no gesture while in Morocco, and save the protest for Ceuta itself.
Club president Miguel Ángel Ramírez said every player carried their kit and boots in a backpack, in case they were stopped in Morocco. Ceuta coach José Juan Romero broke down in tears at the pre-match press conference, saying he was very disappointed with Spain and that there was very little humanity.
An odyssey to reach Ceuta
The Las Palmas squad's journey to Ceuta was a story in itself. The plane landed at Tetouan airport at around 4:45pm, but delays mounted from that point on. Most of the squad crossed the border by land an hour behind schedule, travelling through Morocco by bus past several Moroccan riot-control trucks stationed near the Tarajal crossing, before entering Spanish territory at around 7pm.
The full trip took two hours and twenty minutes by twin-propeller plane, a long wait at passport control, and more than an hour by bus.
Ramírez links Ceuta to the Canary Islands
Ramírez addressed the situation on the club's official radio station in blunt terms, drawing a parallel between Ceuta and the migratory pressure the Canary Islands have faced. He said the Canary Islands were sensitive to immigration, having faced the same pressures before Ceuta and Melilla did.
He said Canarians were tired of receiving immigrants, that they were Spanish and would go all in for Spain, and that they defended the Canary Islands as they would Ceuta or Melilla.
Addressing Morocco's historic claims over the Canary Islands, Ramírez said he did not care if Morocco claimed the islands belonged to it, insisting Canarians were Spanish, not Moroccan, and that they would take to the streets if necessary. He said UD Las Palmas would lead a mobilisation to explain to Morocco that the Canary Islands are Spain, if it came to that.
He closed with a warning against any attempt to use the club as political leverage, saying nobody should play with the Canary Islands, with UD Las Palmas, or with what Spain means to Canarians.
