CCTV Skips Madrid Game

China's state broadcaster CCTV did not televise a Real Madrid match on Sunday.

The omission occurred despite Kylian Mbappé issuing an apology for comments he described as ill-judged regarding the late Chinese leader Mao Zedong.

Mbappé sparked the controversy after identifying a meme with his face on a Chinese dictator as his favorite. China Media Group, the parent organization of CCTV, announced on Tuesday that it would halt broadcasts of Spanish La Liga matches in response to the backlash.

The foreign ministry stated it took the apology seriously. Real Madrid and La Liga also issued apologies. China Media Group had previously declared that apologies from the three parties were an absolute prerequisite for resolving the incident.

The network acknowledged the apologies but did not specify a timeline for ending the broadcast blackout. Mbappé made the original remark on the French talk show The Bridge and apologized the following Tuesday. He said his comment was ill-judged and that he now understood it hurt many people in China and Chinese communities worldwide.

Mao led the Chinese Communist Party to victory in the civil war and founded the People's Republic of China before dying in 1976. The Communist Party reveres him, although his rule included the Great Leap Forward and the Cultural Revolution. These events triggered a famine that killed tens of millions and resulted in violent purges across Chinese society.

Beijing has previously suspended sports broadcasts over political sensitivities. In October 2019, it pulled NBA games for a year after Houston Rockets general manager Daryl Morey tweeted support for Hong Kong protesters. Morey later backtracked, stating he had appreciated the support of Chinese fans and sponsors and that offending them was not his intention. Real Madrid defeated Racing Santander 3-0 in Sunday's unscheduled broadcast, with goals from Mbappé, Jude Bellingham, and Yan Diomande.