Chinese state television continued its blackout of Real Madrid’s Spanish league match against Racing Santander despite apologies from Kylian Mbappe, the club and La Liga over remarks about Mao Zedong.
The fixture, which began at 3.15pm GMT on Sunday, was absent from both sports channels operated by CCTV. None of the other matches from the 11th round of La Liga had been shown live on public television at that stage.
The dispute began after a video featuring Mbappe circulated in China. The Real Madrid forward described a meme showing his face superimposed on Mao as involving “some guy. I think he’s a Chinese dictator.”
He later apologised for what he called “ill-judged” comments. La Liga said it “deeply” regretted the remarks, while Real Madrid also issued an apology.
China Media Group, which oversees CCTV, had announced on October 26 that broadcasts of La Liga were being suspended. It said the apologies from Mbappe, Real Madrid and the Spanish league were “an absolute prerequisite” for the dispute to move forward.
CCTV’s sports website subsequently reported that China Media Group had acknowledged the apologies, although it remained unclear whether discussions to resolve the issue had begun.
La Liga matches have continued to be available through Migu, a digital streaming service owned by China Mobile. The service carried Barcelona’s 6-1 victory over Alaves on Saturday, but the Real Madrid match did not appear to have been shown.
Real Madrid coach Jose Mourinho said on Saturday that the club had “done our part” to move beyond the controversy.
The episode has affected Mbappe’s commercial presence in China, with major brands cancelling sponsorship deals after the remarks. His Chinese social media account on Rednote was also shown displaying a notice saying it had been muted for violating community guidelines.
Mao, who died in 1976, remains a politically sensitive figure in China, where jokes about him are considered taboo. China is also a significant market for European football, with CCTV broadcasting matches from the English, German, French and Italian top flights as well as La Liga.
