Real Madrid beat Racing Santander 3-0 in La Liga on Sunday, but Chinese state broadcaster CCTV did not air the match. The decision came as the fallout from Kylian Mbappe's remarks continued.
Match absent from Chinese screens
According to Agence France-Presse, CCTV did not air Real Madrid's La Liga match against Racing Santander on Sunday. According to Agence France-Presse, neither of the two sports channels belonging to China's broadcasting and television authority CCTV showed the game, and the match did not surface on Migu.
Response to the controversy
French website Foot Mercato reported that Chinese television did not broadcast the match after a clip spread in which Mbappe described Mao Zedong as a dictator. The Independent reported that Mbappe had joked on a French television programme about "a Chinese dictator" resembling Mao, and did not mention Mao by name. CCTV's parent organisation, China Media Group, had announced a suspension of La Liga broadcasts following the controversy, demanding apologies from Mbappe, Real Madrid and the league as "an absolute prerequisite" for resolving the dispute. All three subsequently apologised, and China acknowledged Mbappe's apology on Wednesday. The Independent reported that several Chinese brands dropped Mbappe from sponsorship deals.
Foreign ministry spokesman Guo Jiakun told reporters: "We take seriously the apology the individual concerned has made."
Mbappé said: "My comment was ill-judged, and I now understand that it hurt many people in China and in Chinese communities around the world."
Mourinho's comments
Real Madrid manager Jose Mourinho told reporters ahead of Sunday's match: "These are the dangers of today’s world, where many times the best thing you can do is not open your mouth. Because there is risk in so many things you say or comment on."
Mourinho also said: "But I have also seen him (Mbappe) act very responsibly with a club that, at this regard, is of great class. As far as we’re concerned, that’s it. We have nothing more to say."
He added: "Both Real Madrid and Kylian Mbappe had the class to react immediately, and I feel, as manager, very well represented by both of them."
Result and table position
Mbappe, Jude Bellingham and Yan Diomande scored in Real Madrid's 3-0 win over Racing Santander. GOAL said victory trimmed Real Madrid's gap to league leaders Barcelona to three points and kept them in third place.
