China's state television has suspended broadcasts of Spanish La Liga matches after a scandal involving Real Madrid forward Kylian Mbappe. The trigger was his comment on a meme depicting Mao Zedong. This was reported by Qazaqyia.kz citing Kursiv Media.
According to Reuters, the restrictions also affected other competitions featuring the footballer. Advertising featuring Mbappe was removed from the air.
On October 26, a video circulated online in which Mbappe discusses the funniest meme featuring himself. In the image, his face was combined with a portrait of the founder of the People's Republic of China, Mao Zedong. The footballer did not name the Chinese leader: he mentioned "some guy" and suggested it was a "Chinese dictator."
Earlier, Kursiv reported that jokes about Mbappe's "unlimited power" appeared during his time at PSG. Fans joked about the footballer's supposed influence on the club's decisions. Later, images of Mbappe in the guises of Mobutu Sese Seko and Mao Zedong spread online.
The video sparked criticism and calls to boycott Mbappe on Chinese social media. Already on October 27, beverage producer Dongpeng, dairy company Mengniu and cheese producer Milkground announced the termination of cooperation with him. The companies stated that they do not accept words and actions that offend the national feelings of the Chinese people.
After that, Mbappe acknowledged his comment was unfortunate and apologized.
"I apologize to everyone who was offended by my words. This was completely unintended," the footballer wrote.
He also emphasized that he respects the Chinese people and their history.
China Media Group said it had taken note of Mbappe's apology but would also evaluate his future actions. The corporation expressed hope that the footballer, Real Madrid and La Liga would learn a lesson from the incident.
La Liga also apologized to Chinese fans. The organization said it is working with partners in China to resolve the situation.
On the eve of the scandal, Mbappe became the main hero of El Clasico: his double brought Real Madrid a 2-1 victory over Barcelona. The Frenchman scored the decisive goal in the 87th minute.