Tom Ewart Smith
A SPANISH sports newspaper has sparked outrage after describing Ceuta’s football team as ‘of Moroccan origin’ following their historic promotion to Spain’s second tier.
The controversy erupted after El Mundo Deportivo published an article with the headline: “El Ceuta is the third team of Moroccan origin to play professional football.”
Though the headline was later changed, the damage was done.
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The Royal Football Federation of Ceuta responded with a strongly worded statement, denouncing the description as both inaccurate and offensive.
“Ceuta is Spain. Our city is as Spanish as Barbate, La Rioja, Asturias or Madrid – and so are our clubs, our athletes and our institutions,” the statement read.
The Federation demanded ‘an immediate correction of the aforementioned headline, in line with the basic principles of journalistic rigour and institutional respect,’ adding: “Ceuta is football. Ceuta is Spain.”
The backlash has extended beyond football circles, with many people expressing dismay on social media at what they see as a careless misrepresentation of Ceuta’s identity at a moment of local pride.
Among the public reactions online, one user wrote: “I’ve always considered Ceuta and Melilla part of Andalucia, and therefore part of Spain – Ceuta is more Spanish than that stupid Catalan newspaper and the city where it’s published.”
Another described El Mundo Deportivo bluntly as ‘journalistic and political garbage.’
“It’s especially painful,” the Federation said, “that a national sports outlet would use such an imprecise and offensive description, which hurts the feelings of an entire community that works daily to dignify sport and represent our land with respect and effort.”
