Real Madrid still absent from Chinese screens after Mbappé controversy

Real Madrid remains absent from television schedules in China following the controversy sparked by Kylian Mbappé’s remarks about Mao Zedong. The Madrid side’s trip to Valencia on Saturday evening will not be broadcast in the country, marking the club’s third consecutive match unavailable there.

The two previous affected games were against Santander and AEK Athens. Real Madrid matches have also disappeared from the schedule of Migu Video Sports, the Chinese broadcaster that holds the rights to La Liga. Chinese supporters therefore remain unable to watch the club despite apologies from Mbappé and Real Madrid.

The controversy began after the French forward referred to Mao Zedong, the former Chinese leader, while reacting to memes about him, including one that linked him to the “Chinese dictator.” The description sparked a diplomatic incident. The boycott has continued despite an effort by China’s ambassador to Spain to ease tensions.

The Chinese government has said it is in contact with La Liga and Real Madrid in an effort to calm the situation. China’s ambassador to Spain, Yao Jing, has also referred to discussions with those parties and other Spanish institutions and associations. “The Chinese people need time to digest all this,” said Xie Tianyu, an attaché at the Chinese embassy in Spain. Yao Jing, for his part, called the episode an “unfortunate accident” that had hurt many people in China and said he believed it could be resolved through “interactions based on mutual respect.”

The dispute had already affected La Liga broadcasts: last weekend, none of the matches from the 11th round was shown on the sports channels of the state-owned CCTV group, despite apologies from Mbappé, Real Madrid and La Liga. Several fixtures, including Barça’s, were nevertheless available on the Migu app. Until the situation changes, Chinese supporters still cannot watch Real Madrid on television.