Real Madrid apologise to China over Mbappe's Mao Zedong joke as La Liga broadcasts are suspended

Real Madrid forward Kylian Mbappe has become embroiled in a major controversy over a joke about former Chinese leader Mao Zedong. After a storm of criticism on social media, Mbappe apologised himself, and on Wednesday Real Madrid also formally apologised to the people of China.

The episode began with a video interview Mbappe gave to the French programme 'The Bridge'. There, the 27-year-old forward discussed a meme circulating online in which his face had been placed on a picture of someone he described as 'probably some Chinese dictator'. His words clearly pointed to Mao Zedong.

Mbappe said in the interview that the picture had made him laugh. The segment was later removed, but by then the remarks had already spread.

Making fun of Mao Zedong is an extremely sensitive matter in China. The report notes that while historians say millions died because of policies during his rule, public mockery of him is virtually forbidden in China. Angered by Mbappe's remarks, Chinese football fans began protesting on social media.

On Tuesday, Mbappe apologised in three languages — French, Chinese and English. He said his comment had been thoughtless and that he now understood many people in China and in Chinese communities around the world had been hurt by it.

On Wednesday, 15-time European champions Real Madrid issued a statement. It said the club apologised if the people of China had in any way been hurt by Mbappe's recent remarks.

The club added that it stood with the public apology Mbappe had made. The statement noted that the player himself had expressed regret for his words and had reiterated his respect for the people of China.

China's foreign ministry also reacted to the matter. At a regular press briefing on Wednesday, spokesperson Guo Jiakun said they had taken seriously the apology made by the person concerned.

The fallout has already hit broadcasting. CMG, the body overseeing China's state broadcaster CCTV, has suspended broadcasts of La Liga matches. La Liga authorities also said in a statement on Tuesday that they were deeply sorry that Chinese supporters had been hurt by Mbappe's remarks.

His commercial ties have been affected as well. Chinese drinks maker Dongpeng, which had run advertisements using AI-generated images of Mbappe during the World Cup, announced on Tuesday that it was cancelling its contract with him. Dairy producers Mengniu and Milkground have taken the same decision, according to the report.

Action has also been taken on social media. Mbappe's account on the popular Chinese app Xiaohongshu, where he has more than one million followers, has been suspended. The same step was taken on Weibo, where a notice said he could not be newly followed because of violations of the law or Weibo's community rules.

China's state media Global Times wrote in an editorial that the club's long-standing tolerance of such behaviour had evidently played a role behind Mbappe's latest offensive remark. One Weibo user wrote that Mbappe's comment had hurt China and its people.