China's state broadcaster blacks out Real Madrid despite Mbappé's Mao apology

Chinese state broadcaster CCTV declined to air Real Madrid’s La Liga fixture against Racing Santander on Sunday — a 3-0 win in which Kylian Mbappé scored — despite the French striker, his club and the league all having issued formal apologies over remarks he made about Mao Zedong.

The controversy began when Mbappé, appearing on a French television programme, joked that the meme he found funniest showed his face superimposed on that of “a Chinese dictator” resembling Mao, without naming the former leader directly. In China, where Mao is revered as the founder of the People’s Republic, describing him as a dictator is strictly taboo.

CCTV’s parent organisation, China Media Group (CMG), had announced a suspension of La Liga broadcasts and demanded apologies from Mbappé, Real Madrid and the league as “an absolute prerequisite” for resolving the dispute. All three complied. Mbappé, 26, said: “My comment was ill-judged, and I now understand that it hurt many people in China and in Chinese communities around the world.”

China’s foreign ministry acknowledged the apology on Wednesday, with spokesman Guo Jiakun telling reporters: “We take seriously the apology the individual concerned has made.” CMG, however, has not clarified when broadcasts might resume, and Sunday’s match was not shown.

The fallout has extended beyond broadcasting. Several Chinese brands have dropped Mbappé from sponsorship deals since the remarks surfaced, underlining the commercial stakes for European football in one of its most valuable overseas markets. CCTV also carries Premier League and top-flight German, French and Italian fixtures.

La Liga president Javier Tebas responded by establishing a crisis unit and meeting Chinese ambassador Yao Jing in Madrid last Wednesday in an effort to contain the damage. Real Madrid manager José Mourinho addressed the situation on Saturday, saying the club had “nothing more to say” and adding: “These are the dangers of today’s world, where many times the best thing you can do is not open your mouth.”

Mbappé, Jude Bellingham and Yan Diomande scored in Sunday’s victory over Racing Santander, though the result went unseen by Chinese viewers as the diplomatic and commercial consequences of the striker’s offhand remark continued to unfold.