Football star Kylian Mbappé’s match for Real Madrid this weekend was unavailable on both television and digital streaming platforms in China.
The La Liga giants’ match against Racing Santander, alongside other La Liga matches, on Sunday did not appear on the programming schedules of China’s state broadcaster CCTV, China Mobile’s streaming platform Migu Video and other platforms.
The development followed Mbappé’s comments about the late founding leader of China, Mao Zedong.
Mbappé’s comment about the late leader enraged people in China, as they accused him of insulting a country that has been a lucrative source of income for him.
The 27-year-old later tendered an apology to the people of China over the anger his joke caused, stating, “During a recent interview, I reacted to an image of myself. My comment was ill-judged, and I now understand that it hurt many people in China and in Chinese communities around the world.
He added, “I apologise to everyone my words have upset. That was absolutely not my intention. I have deep respect for the Chinese people and their history, and I am sincerely sorry.”
Three Chinese brands on Tuesday cut ties with the France national football team captain over the comment.
The three Chinese brands, Mengniu Dairy Company, cheese-making company Milkground Food Tech and Dongpeng Beverage Group, announced the termination of their contracts with him in separate statements.
China’s Foreign Ministry spokesperson, Guo Jiakun, said at a briefing in Beijing on Tuesday, “Words and actions that hurt the feelings of the Chinese people will naturally be met with a collective boycott by all sectors of Chinese society.”
Meanwhile, La Liga president Javier Tebas said on Monday that he was maintaining dialogue with Chinese authorities in an effort to defuse the row.
“For now, we wait and see how the situation develops because given how events have unfolded, everything depends on things calming down a bit, on all the mess easing,” Mr Tebas said.