Mbappé controversy over Mao Zedong: Chinese public television did not broadcast the first two matches of the weekend in La Liga

Chinese public television did not broadcast the first two La Liga matches of the weekend, after announcing at the start of the week the suspension of the broadcast of the Spanish championship in connection with Kylian Mbappé's comments about former Chinese leader Mao Zedong.

The match between Villarreal and Espanyol Barcelona, ​​the first match on the program since Tuesday's announcement of the suspension of broadcasting, was not broadcast by the public channel network CCTV, controlled by the Chinese state audiovisual group CMG. This match, which took place Friday evening in Spain, was however accessible via the Migu platform, an online streaming service which depends on the mobile telephone operator China Mobile - controlled by the Chinese state -, noted AFP journalists.

A second match, between Atlético Madrid and Levante, which started at 1 p.m. GMT (2 p.m. in Paris) on Saturday, was also not visible on CCTV. Neither match had been announced on the channel's broadcast schedule. According to La Liga, interviewed by AFP, Chinese television had so far broadcast all matches of the Spanish championship live.

The controversy started at the start of the week with the broadcast of a video in which the French striker of Real Madrid evokes a meme of which he is the subject, including one which associates him with a "Chinese dictator" he explains, in reference to misappropriations which plaster his face on emblematic images of Mao Zedong. The latter is a central character in Chinese history, always officially described as a hero despite very dark chapters and the millions of deaths with which historians associate his exercise of power.

Three companies that used the name and image of the star announced on Tuesday the termination of their contracts with Mbappé, before CCTV announced the suspension of the broadcast of Spanish championship matches. La Liga, for whom China is a key market, “deplored” Mbappé’s comments, and the French superstar later offered “his apologies”, saying he was “sincerely sorry”. China said it took its apology “seriously”.