00:00China has followed through on its threat. The state broadcaster CCTV did not air the first two La Liga matches
00:07of the weekend after Kylian Mbappe's remarks about Mao Zedong.
00:11Friday's match between Villarreal and Espanyol was missing from CCTV's schedule. It remained available on Migu, a streaming platform linked
00:19to State on China Mobile.
00:21The Real Madrid match scheduled for Sunday was later removed from the platform. On Saturday, CCTV also did not air
00:27Atletico Madrid's match against Levante.
00:30The controversy began in a video in which Mbappe referred to memes comparing him to a Chinese dictator in reference
00:36to Mao.
00:37La Liga criticized his remarks and the French forward apologized. Beijing said it was taking the matter seriously.
00:44Chinese foreign minister said last week it took Mbappe's apology seriously, but it remained to be seen whether it will
00:50help him regain the brand deals or other businesses he lost.
