China’s state broadcaster CCTV omitted a Real Madrid fixture on Sunday, bypassing the match even though star forward Kylian Mbappé apologized for his controversial comments regarding former Chinese leader Mao Zedong. The decision follows a severe reaction from the Chinese public after Mbappé mentioned during a French talk show that a meme superimposing his face onto a Chinese dictator resembling Mao was the one that amused him most.
Broadcast Suspension and Demands
China Media Group, the parent organization of CCTV, announced last Tuesday that it would halt broadcasts of Spanish football La Liga games in response to the controversy. The fallout also resulted in multiple Chinese brands cutting ties with Mbappé. Prior to acknowledging the apologies from Mbappé, Real Madrid, and La Liga, China Media Group had insisted that formal apologies were a mandatory requirement to resolve the issue. While the network acknowledged the expressions of regret, it has not specified the duration of the television blackout.
In his apology issued on a Tuesday, Mbappé acknowledged the gravity of the offense. “My comment was ill-judged, and I now understand that it hurt many people in China and in Chinese communities around the world,” he stated. China’s foreign ministry later indicated that it took the apology seriously, while the Chinese Communist Party continues to deeply revere Mao, despite his leadership of bloody historical periods including the Cultural Revolution and the Great Leap Forward.
Historical Precedents for Broadcast Bans
The suspension of sports programming due to political friction is a familiar tactic for Beijing. A similar incident occurred in October 2019 when CCTV halted NBA broadcasts for an entire year after Houston Rockets general manager Daryl Morey posted a tweet backing pro-democracy demonstrators in Hong Kong. Morey subsequently retracted his statement following intense backlash from Chinese supporters and corporate sponsors, noting that he had listened to alternative perspectives and that offending local fans was never his intention.
Real Madrid secured a 3-0 victory in Sunday’s match against Racing Santander, with goals contributed by Mbappé, Jude Bellingham, and Yan Diomande, though domestic fans were unable to watch the broadcast on state television.
