China’s state broadcaster CCTV has suspended its coverage of LaLiga after Real Madrid forward Kylian Mbappé made a joke referencing a meme that superimposed his face onto an image resembling Chinese leader Mao Zedong. China Media Group, CCTV’s parent organization, confirmed it would halt broadcasts of Spanish football following the backlash, according to the BBC.
CCTV aired no LaLiga matches on Saturday, according to checks by the EFE news agency cited by Yahoo Sports. The network also did not broadcast Real Madrid’s Sunday match, and both Sunday’s and Monday’s LaLiga fixtures were absent from CCTV’s published schedule.
The Joke That Triggered The CCTV LaLiga Suspension
Mbappé’s comment came during an appearance on the French talk show The Bridge, where he said a meme comparing him to Mao was the one that had made him laugh the most. Mao led the Chinese Communist Party to victory in the civil war and founded the People’s Republic of China before his death in 1976. He remains revered by the Communist Party despite overseeing one of the bloodiest periods in the country’s modern history, a tension that helps explain the intensity of the reaction to Mbappé’s remark.
Mbappé later apologized. “My comment was ill-judged, and I now understand that it hurt many people in China and in Chinese communities around the world,” he said. China’s foreign ministry said it took the apology seriously. Real Madrid and LaLiga issued their own apologies as well.
China Media Group was not satisfied with words alone. The broadcaster demanded apologies from Mbappé, Real Madrid and LaLiga, calling them “an absolute prerequisite” for moving past the incident. Several Chinese brands dropped Mbappé as a sponsor following the backlash.
What It Means For Real Madrid’s Coverage In China
The practical effect on Chinese television has been immediate and specific to Real Madrid. CCTV’s schedule lists no Real Madrid matches from this season or from the entirety of 2025/26, suggesting the club’s games have effectively vanished from the state broadcaster’s lineup since the controversy began.
LaLiga sent a letter to China Media Group, which oversees CCTV, but the corporation has not clarified whether Mbappé’s apology satisfies its demands or when broadcasts might resume. That leaves the timeline for any return to CCTV’s airwaves unresolved.
Digital Streaming Largely Unaffected
The disruption has not extended to LaLiga’s digital rights holder in China. Migu, which holds exclusive digital streaming rights for LaLiga in the country through the 2029/30 season, kept nearly all of its scheduled coverage intact. The lone match missing from Migu’s broadcasts was Racing de Santander’s game against Real Madrid.
That gap on Migu is not entirely new. The streaming platform also did not show Real Madrid’s matches in August and September, meaning the current absence is not solely a reaction to the Mbappé comment. Real Madrid beat Racing Santander 3-0 on Sunday, with goals from Mbappé, Jude Bellingham and Yan Diomande, a result that went largely unseen on CCTV.
A Familiar Pattern For China And Sports Broadcasting
The CCTV LaLiga suspension echoes a prior standoff between Chinese state media and a major sports league. China pulled NBA broadcasts for roughly a year starting in October 2019 after Houston Rockets general manager Daryl Morey tweeted support for Hong Kong protesters during widespread pro-democracy demonstrations. That dispute showed how quickly Chinese broadcasters can suspend coverage over comments deemed politically sensitive, and how long such suspensions can last before resolution.
What’s Next
CCTV has given no indication of when or whether it will resume airing LaLiga matches. LaLiga is awaiting a response to its letter to China Media Group, and no timeline has been set for Real Madrid’s games to return to the state broadcaster’s schedule. Mbappé, who has faced criticism from outside observers before, continues to play for a Real Madrid side that manager Jose Mourinho has defended publicly in other contexts this season.
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