China’s state television has suspended broadcasts of La Liga matches after remarks by Real Madrid star Kylian Mbappe about Mao Zedong. The suspension of La Liga broadcasts was announced on Tuesday, October 27, by the state-owned China Media Group, which oversees broadcaster CCTV.
The group said it had reached the decision on Monday, before Mbappe and La Liga apologised. It also suspended advertisements involving the French player. Apologies from La Liga, Mbappe and Real Madrid are an absolute prerequisite for any further discussion, the group said, and nothing will be discussed until those apologies are received.
Mbappe apologised on Tuesday, describing his comment about Mao as ill-judged. “My comment was ill-judged, and I now understand that it hurt many people in China and in Chinese communities around the world,” he said in a statement issued in French, Chinese and English. “I apologise to everyone my words have upset.”
La Liga also apologised, saying it deeply regrets the offence that Mbappe’s comments caused among Chinese fans. The league said the comments were made in a personal capacity and do not represent La Liga.
How the row started
The row began with a viral video from a talk show appearance. Mbappe was asked which meme of himself had made him laugh the most. He answered that it was an image with his face photo-shopped onto that of a man he described as a Chinese dictator.
The image was an apparent reference to a meme of Mbappe superimposed on an image of Mao, the founding leader of the People’s Republic of China, who led the country from 1949 until his death in 1976. The authenticity of the video could not immediately be verified by AFP Fact Check, and that caveat matters: the backlash grew from a clip whose origin and editing remain unverified, even as the player, the league and sponsors all responded to it.
In China, jokes about Mao remain taboo. His drastic policies are blamed by historians for mass starvation and millions of deaths, yet public criticism of the founding leader is tightly restricted. That sensitivity explains why a talk show joke travelled so fast into a broadcast and commercial dispute.
Brands cut ties before the broadcast halt
Major Chinese brands moved before the broadcaster did. Beverage giant Dongpeng, which had run adverts with Mbappe during this year’s World Cup, said it was ending its cooperation with the France captain. Reports put the number of Chinese companies ending partnerships with Mbappe at three.
La Liga president Javier Tebas also apologised personally to Chinese fans and promised an awareness protocol drawn up with clubs and players. China’s foreign ministry added its criticism, widening a row that began as a sponsorship problem into a diplomatic irritant.
The sequence is now clear. The video circulated, brands cut ties, Mbappe apologised, La Liga apologised, and the broadcaster suspended matches anyway. The apologies did not stop the suspension, because China Media Group had already decided on Monday and had set further apologies, including one from Real Madrid, as a condition for talks.
What the halt to La Liga broadcasts means for Spanish football
The suspension cuts off one of La Liga’s biggest overseas audiences. Chinese viewers will miss live matches, and the league loses both broadcast exposure and sponsor value in the market. For Real Madrid, the stakes are higher still: the club must decide whether to issue its own apology, as China Media Group has demanded, or stand behind its player’s personal apology.
Mbappe’s standing in China has also changed. He arrived in the row as one of world football’s most recognisable faces, with major Chinese sponsors behind him. He leaves it, for now, without those deals and without his matches on state television.
Feature Pakistan has followed Mbappe’s season closely, including Real Madrid’s Clasico win over Barcelona and Harry Kane’s Ballon d’Or win this week. The China row is a reminder that a player’s words off the pitch can now move broadcast deals and sponsor contracts as fast as goals move league tables.
