CCTV keeps Real Madrid off air after Mbappé’s Mao joke

China’s state broadcaster CCTV did not show Real Madrid’s 3-0 win over Racing Santander on Sunday, despite forward Kylian Mbappé apologising for remarks about a meme depicting him as Mao Zedong.

China Media Group, CCTV’s parent organisation, had said last Tuesday it would suspend broadcasts of Spanish La Liga matches following the backlash. It has acknowledged apologies from Mbappé, Real Madrid and La Liga, but has not said how long the blackout will last.

Mbappé reportedly made the remark on French talk show *The Bridge*, saying the meme that made him laugh most showed his face superimposed on a “Chinese dictator” resembling Mao. He later called his comment “ill-judged” and said he understood it had hurt people in China and Chinese communities around the world.

China’s foreign ministry said it took the apology seriously. Before the apologies, China Media Group had described them as “an absolute prerequisite” for moving past the incident.

The backlash also led several Chinese brands to drop Mbappé, according to the BBC. Mao, who led the Chinese Communist Party to victory in the civil war and founded the People’s Republic of China, remains revered by the party. His rule included the Great Leap Forward and the Cultural Revolution, periods associated with famine and violent purges.

China has previously suspended sports broadcasts amid political disputes. CCTV stopped airing NBA games for a year from October 2019 after Houston Rockets general manager Daryl Morey tweeted in support of Hong Kong protesters. The BBC reported that Morey later expressed regret for the offence caused, while saying it had not been his intention.