China state broadcaster pulls La Liga matches following Mbappé joke
China Media Group, which acknowledged Mbappé's apology, has not said how long the blackout will last.
CCTV, China's state broadcaster, avoided airing a Real Madrid match on Sunday, despite Kylian Mbappé's apology for remarks deemed offensive. Mbappé faced backlash for jokingly replacing his face with that of Mao Zedong, the late Chinese leader associated with a brutal regime. China Media Group, CCTV's parent organization, suspended broadcasts of Spanish football La Liga matches following the controversy, which also led to Mbappé being dropped by several Chinese brands.
The foreign ministry had previously stated it took Mbappé's apology seriously. Real Madrid and La Liga issued apologies as well, with China Media Group demanding their sincerity before considering the incident resolved. Mbappé later apologized, acknowledging his comment was "ill-judged" and caused hurt to many in China and Chinese communities worldwide.
The joke was particularly unpopular in China, where Mao is revered by the Communist Party. Despite leading the Communist Party to victory and founding the People's Republic of China, Mao oversaw one of the bloodiest chapters in the country's past, including the Great Leap Forward and Cultural Revolution, which resulted in millions of deaths and violent purges.
This isn't the first time Beijing has halted sports broadcasts due to political sensitivities. It previously paused NBA games for a year in 2019 after Daryl Morey, Houston Rockets' general manager, tweeted support for Hong Kong protesters during pro-democracy demonstrations, leading to intense criticism from Chinese fans, sponsors, and partners.
Written by urgent.news from Yahoo Sports's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
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