China's CCTV skips Real Madrid match as Mbappé Mao backlash continues

What happened on Sunday

China's state broadcaster CCTV did not air Real Madrid's match at Racing Santander on Sunday, 1 November, a 15:15 GMT kickoff in the 11th round of La Liga. AFP found the game on neither of CCTV's sports channels, and none of the other 11th-round fixtures had been broadcast live on the channel by then. The match was also unavailable on the streaming platform Migu, although other games from that round, including Barcelona against Deportivo Alavés, could be watched there. Real Madrid won 3-0, with Kylian Mbappé among the scorers.

How the row began

The dispute started early in the week of 26 October, when a video in which Mbappé discussed a satirical image of himself spread widely. One version of the meme superimposed his face onto a figure resembling Mao Zedong, and BBC reports that Mbappé made his remark on the French talk show The Bridge. On Tuesday, 27 October, he apologised, and his statement said the following.

“My comment was ill-judged, and I now understand that it hurt many people in China and in Chinese communities around the world.”

China's foreign ministry said it took the apology seriously, while Real Madrid and La Liga also issued apologies of their own.

Brands, league and broadcaster

On the same Tuesday, three Chinese companies that had used Mbappé's name and image to promote drinks, dairy and cheese products announced they were ending their contracts with him. China Media Group, the state media group that oversees CCTV, then said it would suspend broadcasts of La Liga. It said apologies from three parties were an absolute prerequisite for moving past the incident. La Liga had voiced regret over Mbappé's remarks before the player apologised, according to DW, and the league said CCTV had carried all of its matches live until then. China Media Group has acknowledged the apologies but has not said how long the blackout will last.

Precedent and wider context

Beijing has suspended sports broadcasts before over political sensitivities. BBC notes it pulled NBA games for a year from October 2019 after Daryl Morey, then general manager of the Houston Rockets, tweeted in support of Hong Kong protesters. Morey backtracked after criticism from Chinese fans, sponsors and commercial partners. Mao led the Chinese Communist Party to victory in the civil war, founded the People's Republic of China and died in 1976. BBC also notes that his Great Leap Forward and Cultural Revolution led to a famine that killed tens of millions. DW adds that many Chinese see him as the leader who unified the country, while many historians link his policies to famine, persecution and social upheaval that cost tens of millions of lives.