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Real Madrid soccer star Kylian Mbappe has apologized for his "incautious" comments about former Chinese leader Mao Zedong, but Chinese state broadcaster CCTV did not broadcast a Real Madrid match on Sunday (local time).
A strong backlash arose in China after it became known that Mbappe had previously chosen a meme in which his face was superimposed on the face of a "Chinese dictator" who resembled Mao Zedong as the "funniest content about himself."
CCTV's parent company, China Media Group (CMG), was outraged by this and announced on the 27th that it would stop broadcasting Spanish professional soccer La Liga games.
As controversy arose, several Chinese brands terminated their contracts with Mbappe.
Afterwards, China's Ministry of Foreign Affairs said it took Mbappe's apology "seriously," and Real Madrid and La Liga also apologized.
Previously, CMG said that an apology was an "absolute prerequisite" for moving on, and demanded apologies from Mbappe, Real Madrid, and La Liga.
However, while accepting Mbappe's apology, he did not mention when the related broadcast would resume.
Mbappe, who is known to have made comments related to the meme on the French talk show 'The Bridge', apologized on the 27th of last month.
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He said, “It was an imprudent remark. “My remark was not prudent. “I now realize that those comments hurt China and the Chinese community around the world,” he said.
Mbappe's joke sparked a strong backlash in China. Although Mao Zedong was one of the leaders of the bloodiest period in Chinese history, the Chinese Communist Party still reveres him.
Mao Zedong, who led the Chinese Communist Party to victory in the Chinese Civil War and founded the current People's Republic of China, died in 1976.
During his reign, the Great Leap Forward and the Cultural Revolution occurred, which resulted in a famine that killed tens of millions of people and violent purges throughout China.
Meanwhile, this is not the first time that Chinese authorities have suspended sports broadcasting due to politically sensitive controversy.
In October 2019, when large-scale pro-democracy protests were in full swing in Hong Kong, Chinese authorities suspended NBA game broadcasting for a year after Houston Rockets general manager Daryl Morey posted a tweet in support of Hong Kong protesters.
As strong criticism continued from Chinese fans, sponsors, and commercial partners, General Manager Morey withdrew his remarks.
He noted that "since that tweet, I've had many opportunities to hear and think about other points of view."
“We are always grateful for the great support of our Chinese fans and sponsors... We hope you know that we did not intentionally try to offend or cause misunderstanding.”
Meanwhile, Real Madrid defeated Racing Santander 3-0 in the match on the 1st, thanks to goals from Mbappe, Jude Bellingham, and Yann Diomande.
