LaLiga President Tebas apologized to China!

Javier Tebas, the president of the LaLiga institution to which the clubs in the 1st and 2nd football leagues in Spain are affiliated, apologized to this country for the "dictator" term used by French football player Kylian Mbappe, who plays for Real Madrid, for Mao Zedong, the founding leader of the People's Republic of China.

In Mbappe's interview on a website called "The Bridge", when asked about the online jokes made about him, he said, referring to Mao Zedong, the founding leader of the People's Republic of China, "The joke I laughed at the most is the joke where they used my face as a Chinese dictator. I use this a lot with my friends." His words caused controversy.

Following the statement, Chinese state television CCTV decided to suspend the broadcast of La Liga and Real Madrid striker's matches, while many Chinese companies terminated their advertising contracts with the French football player.

Following the reactions from China, an important market for Spanish football, LaLiga President Javier Tebas apologized to China on behalf of the Spanish league and its clubs.

In his written statement on his account on social networking sites, Tebas emphasized that Mbappe's opinion was personal and binding only on him, and stated that he was deeply sorry that this situation caused discomfort among Chinese fans, despite everything.

"WE ARE TAKING ALL POSSIBLE MEASURES TO OVERCOME THIS SITUATION"

Tebas stated that they are in contact with Chinese officials to ensure that a word from Mbappe does not harm all 20 clubs in the Spanish First Football League and millions of Chinese people.

Tebas used the following statements:

"As LaLiga, we deeply regret Kylian Mbappe's statements that caused distress in China. We understand the damage caused and, on behalf of LaLiga, I would like to sincerely apologize to the Chinese people. For many years, we have established a relationship of respect, trust and cooperation with China and its authorities, sports institutions, broadcasters and millions of football fans. We are taking all possible measures to overcome this situation and working directly with our partners and counterparts in China. Our commitment to China, its people and institutions "A relationship built over years cannot be damaged by a single incident."

APOLOGY FROM MBAPPE

Mbappe made a written statement after the controversy.

In the interview, Mbappe noted that he reacted to a photo used to depict him, saying, "My comment was unfortunate and I now understand that it hurt many people in China and the Chinese community around the world. I apologize to anyone I may have hurt with my words. I had absolutely no such intention. I deeply respect the Chinese people and their history and I sincerely apologize." he said.