Chinese state television CCTV did not broadcast a single match from the Spanish La Liga on Saturday. The reason is the scandal surrounding Real Madrid star Kylian Mbappe and his comment related to a collage depicting his face on that of former Chinese leader Mao Zedong. The situation is reported by “Marca“, citing the EFE agency.
The broadcasts of the Spanish championship were suspended at the beginning of the week. Meanwhile, the online platform Migu continued to broadcast most of the championship matches, but removed the matches involving Real Madrid from its schedule.
According to EFE, none of the matches scheduled for Friday and Saturday were included in the official CCTV schedule. These include the matches between Villarreal and Espanyol, Levante and Atletico Madrid, Rayo Vallecano and Celta, Betis and Malaga, and Barcelona and Alaves. The same restriction also applies to the matches on Sunday and Monday.
Some older La Liga matches can still be found on the television's mobile application, but the last available match is the one between Celta and Betis on October 25. It is particularly telling that the catalog no longer contains any content featuring Real Madrid since the start of this season.
The Migu platform, which holds the exclusive digital rights to broadcast the Spanish championship in China until the 2029/30 season, has retained almost its entire weekend program. The only significant exception was Real Madrid's away match against Racing Santander, which was also removed from the schedule. An EFE check shows that the previous matches of Madrid players from August and September have also been removed from the platform.
The tension between Mbappe and the Chinese audience arose after a television interview in which the French striker spoke about his favorite internet collage. In it, his face was superimposed on the image of a Chinese dictator - a reference to Mao Zedong, whose name the footballer did not mention directly.
The reaction in China was not long in coming. Several local companies have ended their sponsorship deals with the striker, and state television has imposed restrictions on the broadcast of Real Madrid matches, his football appearances and his advertising materials.
Mbappe subsequently apologized in French, English and Chinese. La Liga management also expressed regret for the situation, and the organization's president Javier Tebas sent an official letter to China Media Group (CMG) - the media conglomerate that manages the state broadcaster.
The Chinese corporation confirmed that they had received the position of the Spanish championship and Real Madrid. In it, the club emphasizes its respect for China. However, there is currently no official information on when the restrictions will be lifted. Chinese media authorities have not announced a deadline for the restoration of broadcasts, and the country's Foreign Ministry has not yet commented on the duration of the measures.