BEIJING (The Thursday Times) — Chinese state television did not show Real Madrid’s match at Racing Santander on Sunday, extending its La Liga blackout despite apologies from Kylian Mbappe, the club and the league over his remark about Mao Zedong.
Neither of CCTV’s two sports channels aired the game, which Real won 3-0 with Mbappe scoring a penalty. No other match from the weekend’s round had been shown live on public television either. La Liga games were carried on Migu, a streaming service owned by state-run China Mobile, including Barcelona’s 6-1 win over Alaves, but the Real Madrid match did not appear to be among them.
The row began when a video from April went viral, in which Mbappe said the funniest internet meme of himself had his face on “some guy” he thought was “a Chinese dictator”, an apparent reference to Mao. China Media Group, which oversees CCTV, suspended La Liga broadcasts on October 26 and said apologies were an absolute prerequisite for moving on.
Mbappe, Real Madrid and La Liga have all since apologised, and China’s foreign ministry said it took the player’s apology seriously. It remains unclear whether talks to end the dispute have begun. Real coach Jose Mourinho said on Saturday that the club had “done our part”.
