Abdel Abqar caused a heated debate by heading towards Kylian Mbappé to get his jersey at the end of the first half of the match against Real Madrid yesterday, before being replaced. Several sources in Spain have claimed that this change was due to this gesture. However, his coach wanted to re-establish the truth.
Abqar sparked a backlash on social media after he asked for Kylian Mbappe’s jersey. Some saw it as a normal gesture from a player who admires the former Paris Saint-Germain star, while others saw it as a form of disdain towards his own club.
Alavés fans felt that the player seemed more concerned with getting Mbappé’s shirt than the match itself, and that he did not bother to wait until the end of the match as is usually the case, instead rushing to secure the shirt immediately after the half-time whistle, when his team were 2–0 down, with Mbappé scoring a goal in the 40th minute, which resulted in him being immediately substituted.
However, coach Luis Garcia said in the press conference after the match that he did not see Abqar ask Mbappe for the shirt, saying his substitution was motivated by a desire to make tactical adjustments in the match.
“I don’t know what he did. I wanted to change something because I wanted to work on something, a little tactical thing. I don’t know if he asked for the jersey, I have no idea. It came out because I wanted to replace it and that’s it,” he said.
The match between Real Madrid and Alavés ended in favor of the Madrilenians with a score of 3-2, on the seventh day of the Spanish Liga.
