CCTV halts LaLiga broadcasts over Mbappe Mao remark

China's state broadcaster CCTV has stopped airing Spanish LaLiga matches and any games involving Kylian Mbappe, and has pulled all advertising featuring the Real Madrid forward. The move escalated a backlash over his remarks about a meme of Mao Zedong. Citing people at China Media Group, the Shanghai outlet The Paper reported that the suspension took effect on the night of Monday, October 26, according to EFE. Commercial Times reported that the suspension covers LaLiga and all Mbappe-related matches.sports.ifeng.com+1

The broadcaster's action came alongside a wider pullback. Mbappe's accounts on Xiaohongshu and Weibo ↗ 0.49% were muted, and Chinese platforms removed coverage of him. Brands also moved quickly to cut ties.

Accounts muted, content removed

On October 27, Mbappe's Xiaohongshu account showed that it had been muted and blocked from new followers for breaking community rules, and his Weibo account also showed a muted status, HK01 reported. The Xiaohongshu account had more than 1.05 million followers. In a statement, Xiaohongshu said it "firmly opposes any behavior that hurts national sentiment." It added that its 2024 content partnership with Mbappe ended on December 31, 2024, and that it was removing related material, Taiwan's Central News Agency reported via ETtoday.sports.ettoday.net+1

CCTV's news Weibo account and its website both took down reports about Mbappe, Ifeng reported. Searches for him on CCTV's video app and on Migu China Mobile Limited returned no results, and Migu removed footage of his goals in the Clasico, according to a report on Tencent News.sports.ifeng.com+1

Sponsors walk away

Energy drink maker Dongpeng and dairy giant Mengniu China Mengniu Dairy Company Limited ended their partnerships on Tuesday, France 24 reported. Dongpeng said it has "a zero-tolerance policy towards any behaviour that offends national sentiments." Cheese maker Milkground Shanghai Milkground Food Tech Co., Ltd. also cut ties, HuffPost France reported. Mbappe-related content could no longer be found on the official Weibo pages of Dior Christian Dior SE, On ↘ 2.38%, Nike ↘ 1.16% and Hublot LVMH Moët Hennessy Louis Vuitton SE, Commercial Times reported, citing Lianhe Zaobao.france24.com+2

The meme behind the furor

The controversy started with a video in which Mbappe said the funniest meme he had seen showed his face photoshopped onto "some guy — I think he's a Chinese dictator," France 24 reported. According to HuffPost France, the clip dates from April 2, 2026, when he was recording The Bridge podcast. Mbappe did not name anyone, but a widely shared image puts his face on a portrait of Mao, EFE noted.efe.com+2

The state-run Guangming Daily took a hard line. "No insult to China's late great leader will be tolerated," it wrote, adding that "no matter how good one's football skills, one cannot trample the bottom line," according to HK01.hk01.com