Real Madrid apologises as Mbappe Mao comment fuels backlash in China

The controversy began with a video interview in which Kylian Mbappe discussed an internet meme showing his face superimposed on Mao Zedong. According to World News CNA, he described being amused by an image of "some guy, think he's a Chinese dictator", an apparent reference to Mao.

The Real Madrid forward apologised for what he called "ill-judged" comments, BBC News reported on October 27. But the response in China quickly spread beyond criticism of the player to his sponsors and Spanish football broadcasts.

By October 27, Chinese sponsors had dropped Mbappe and state television had suspended La Liga coverage, according to The42. Times of India Top Stories identified Dongpeng and Mengniu as sponsors that terminated their deals. The coverage differs on the total number of companies involved: Perfil.com reported three contract cancellations.

La Liga president Javier Tebas met China's ambassador in Spain on October 27 in an effort to calm the dispute, L'Équipe reported. ESPN FC identified the ambassador as Yao Jing and said the talks sought to "find solutions".

On October 28, Real Madrid issued its own apology to Chinese people, according to La Nacion. The club's statement followed apologies from Mbappe and Tebas, Franceinfo reported.

The response to those apologies was not described consistently. ABC reported on October 28 that China had rejected the apologies from Mbappe and La Liga. But The Hindu quoted Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Guo Jiakun saying: "We take seriously the apology that the person has made".

By October 29, Japan Times reported that Tebas had also set up a crisis unit after the earlier apologies failed to quell the response in China.

The fallout is still visible in Mbappe's commercial presence. On October 29, NDTV News reported that photographs shared on social media showed authorities removing or concealing promotional hoardings featuring him.

The scope of the television disruption is less clear across the reports. The42 described a suspension of La Liga coverage, while Forbes reported that Chinese state broadcasters had stopped airing games featuring Mbappe. The supplied coverage does not establish when broadcasts will resume.

The immediate issues are whether broadcasters restore coverage and whether Tebas's talks produce an announced agreement. CNBC reported that Chinese state media had warned Mbappe his apology would be judged against his actions. The supplied reports do not specify what further steps would satisfy that demand.