Betis winger Abde defends wearing shirt in support of Ceuta

Real Betis winger Ez Abde defended himself on Tuesday after receiving insults on social media for wearing a shirt in support of Spain's north African territory Ceuta before his side's match against Villarreal.

Players from both teams wore t-shirts bearing the slogan 'we are all Ceutans' before Betis's 2-1 win on Monday at Villarreal's La Ceramica stadium in La Liga.

The gesture prompted some backlash against Abde, a Moroccan international, who was born in Morocco and raised in Spain.

Some social media users accused the 24-year-old of betraying his country and called for him to be dropped by the Moroccan national team.

Abde defended his participation in the initiative on Tuesday, insisting it had no political intention or aim of disrespecting Morocco.

"I want to make one thing clear -- at no point was the shirt referring to the people of Ceuta used with a political objective or out of contempt for my people, the Moroccan people," said Abde in a post on Instagram.

The former Barcelona winger described it as a social gesture in support of the population of the city "regardless of their nationality".

"This is not an apology to anyone," he added. "I will continue to hold my head high and represent my roots with pride and sacrifice."

The controversy comes amid heightened tensions surrounding the Spanish territory following a large influx of migrants from Morocco. Tens of thousands of migrants arrived in Ceuta from Morocco on July 30 and 31.

Most of them returned in the hours following their arrival, but several thousand remained in Ceuta.

Locals have protested regularly as the migrants continue to camp on beaches and sleep in the streets, accusing the Spanish government of abandoning the overwhelmed city amid a humanitarian crisis.

Betis are due to play a friendly against Ceuta on October 1 in Seville to raise funds and show support for the city.