Mbappe's Apology Was Not Enough to End the China Crisis

Real Madrid forward Kylian Mbappe apologized over his remarks about Mao Zedong. Real Madrid and La Liga also issued the same statement. The controversy began with a video that surfaced this week. In the video, Mbappe appears to be mocking the former Chinese leader. Mbappe said he enjoyed an internet joke in which his face was added to an image of Mao, and he described the figure as someone regarded as a Chinese dictator.

Mao is officially respected in China as the leader of the communist revolution and the founder of the People's Republic. Historians, however, hold him responsible for policies that led to millions of deaths. Even so, publicly mocking the former leader is still considered taboo in China. Remarks seen as disrespectful toward political leadership can cause serious damage to the reputation of foreign athletes.

Following the incident, Mbappe's ties with major Chinese brands were cut. Top-level matches in Spain were also removed from the state broadcaster CCTV. Chinese state media and social media users criticized Mbappe harshly. Many people, however, reacted without knowing exactly what he had said.

A spokesperson for the Chinese Foreign Ministry said the government was taking the apology seriously. Sports commentator Yan Qiang said the incident had caused serious damage to the image of La Liga and Real Madrid in China. In his view, in the mobile internet age, events spread quickly on social media and emotions rise easily. Given the commercial importance of China, the world's second-largest economy, these reactions do not appear likely to fade anytime soon.