China halts La Liga broadcasts after Mbappe's 'dictator' comments

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Martin Macdonald | Writer

Chinese state television, CCTV, has suspended broadcasts of La Liga matches following the backlash of memes depicting Kylian Mbappe as the late Chinese leader Mao Zedong.

The Mbappe–Chairman Mao memes are part of an internet trend known as 'Dictator Mbappe,' which portrays the Real Madrid star as an authoritarian ruler.

The joke revolves around the idea that Mbappe has so much power and influence in football that he behaves like a dictator. Memes exaggerate his alleged control over club decisions, managers and team-mates, portraying him as a supreme leader who demands obedience and punishes anyone who challenges his authority.

The player himself actually takes the memes in good humour as when asked which 'Dictator Mbappe' meme is his favourite, he allegedly told French talk show The Bridge: "The one I have laughed the most with is the one in which they use my face as a Chinese dictator. I use it a lot with my friends."

However, the response in China has been negative. This week, the controversy surrounding the memes escalated from an online joke into a major commercial backlash, with Chinese companies ending sponsorship deals and social media users calling for boycotts of both Mbappe and Real Madrid.

In China, Mao remains a highly sensitive historical figure and is celebrated by the Communist Party, while jokes perceived as disrespectful towards him can provoke strong public reactions.

The video itself is unverified and is not available to view on the YouTube channel of The Bridge, which is presented by Mbappe's Real Madrid team-mate Aurelien Tchouameni.

Chinese football forum Dongqiudi mentioned the comments from Mbappe, saying they were "inappropriate" and "hurt the feelings of Chinese people".

Sponsorships have started to be cancelled because of it.

Mengniu, a dairy producer, said it "firmly opposes and has a zero-tolerance policy towards any words or actions that hurt the feelings of the Chinese people".

Drinks giant Dongpeng said: "Our company firmly opposes and has a zero-tolerance policy towards any behaviour that offends national sentiments."

Spanish publication EFE reports that CCTV will not show any La Liga matches for an indefinite period and will ban all mentions of Mbappe moving forward.

In February, Real Madrid defender Dean Huijsen was forced to apologise on the club's Weibo account for sharing content on social media that is offensive to Asians.

The Spain international's social media activity made reference to the shape of an Asian person's eyes.

"I sincerely apologise to my Chinese friends," he said in a statement.

"I previously forwarded content that included offensive messages unintentionally. It was completely unintentional, and I regret the distress caused."

Weibo is one of the biggest social media platforms in China, with over 582 million active users per month.

Chairman Mao, whose full name was Mao Zedong, was the communist leader who founded the People's Republic of China in 1949 and ruled until his death in 1976.

Despite his controversial legacy, Mao remains an important symbol of Chinese national identity. This is why memes comparing Mbappe to Mao can be sensitive in China, where some people view jokes involving his image as disrespectful towards the country's history and national pride.