China TV boycott hits La Liga after Mbappe's Mao remarks
BEIJING: Chinese state television did not air on Saturday the first La Liga games since Real Madrid star Kylian Mbappe caused anger with a joke about the country’s former leader Mao Zedong.
Chinese state television, CCTV, chose not to broadcast the first La Liga games following Kylian Mbappe's remark about Mao Zedong, the former leader of China. It is unclear if the broadcaster had scheduled screenings before cancelling them or if they were not scheduled to begin with. Mbappe, Real Madrid, and La Liga subsequently apologized for his comments.
Despite their apology, CCTV's sports channels still refused to air Villarreal's 1-0 defeat to Espanyol and Atletico Madrid's win against Levante on Saturday. The next three matches were also supposed to be broadcasted in China but due to the controversy, they were cancelled. La Liga previously broadcasted all games live on Chinese television, though the specific platforms hosting the broadcasts were not mentioned by the club.
China Media Group (CMG), which oversees CCTV, had suspended La Liga broadcasts on Monday, stating that apologies from La Liga, Mbappe, and Real Madrid were necessary to continue with the matches. The viral video showed Mbappe making a joke about Mao, comparing him to a dictator, referencing an internet meme. Mbappe later apologized for his "ill-judged" comments, and La Liga and Real Madrid expressed deep regret.
CCTV's sports website reported that CMG acknowledged the apologies, but it remains unclear if talks were initiated to resolve the situation. China, being a major market for European football, includes CCTV's broadcasts of Premier League, German, French, and Italian top flights. Real Madrid, popular in China, are set to play Racing Santander on Sunday.
Real coach Jose Mourinho stated that the club has done its part to put the controversy behind them. In China, it is considered taboo to joke about Mao, whose policies are blamed for mass starvation and millions of deaths. Major Chinese brands cancelled their sponsorship deals with Mbappe after his comments. Various overseas sports leagues and players have faced backlash for comments deemed politically sensitive to China, including China cutting ties with the NBA in 2019 due to Daryl Morey's support for Hong Kong protesters.
Written by urgent.news from New Straits Times's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
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