Real Madrid’s Spanish football league fixture against Racing Santander failed to appear on Chinese state television as the fallout from Kylian Mbappe’s remarks regarding former leader Mao Zedong continues to affect La Liga broadcasts.
Neither of the two dedicated sports channels operated by the Chinese state broadcaster CCTV aired the Sunday match, mirroring an ongoing blackout across public television for the Spanish league's eleventh matchweek. The dispute stems from an April video that recently resurfaced online, in which Mbappe referred to Mao as a dictator while discussing an internet meme that superimposed his face onto an image of the former leader.
The controversy prompted the China Media Group, the body overseeing CCTV, to suspend La Liga broadcasts on October 26. Although Mbappe, Real Madrid, and La Liga subsequently issued apologies, and China’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs acknowledged taking the player’s statement seriously, state television has not resumed airing the club's games.
Digital streaming platforms such as Migu have continued broadcasting other Spanish league matches, including Barcelona's recent victory, but omitted the Real Madrid fixture. Following the backlash, major Chinese corporate sponsors terminated endorsement deals with Mbappe, and his social media account on the Rednote platform was muted for violating community guidelines.
While CCTV's sports division acknowledged receipt of the apologies, it remains undetermined when formal discussions to resolve the diplomatic sports friction will commence. Historically, foreign sports organizations and athletes have faced severe commercial and broadcast penalties in China for touching upon politically sensitive subjects.