China's state broadcaster keeps La Liga blackout despite Mbappé apology

China's state broadcaster CCTV did not air Real Madrid's match on Sunday, despite an apology from the club's striker Kylian Mbappé for remarks about the late Chinese leader Mao Zedong. The French forward sparked a huge backlash after reportedly telling the French talk show The Bridge that the meme which made him laugh the most was one showing his face superimposed on a "Chinese dictator" resembling Mao. China Media Group, CCTV's parent organisation, said last Tuesday it would suspend broadcasts of Spanish La Liga matches following the furore. Several Chinese brands also dropped Mbappé. The broadcaster had demanded apologies from Mbappé, Real Madrid and La Liga, calling them "an absolute prerequisite" for moving past the incident. Mbappé apologised later that day, saying: "My comment was ill-judged, and I now understand that it hurt many people in China and in Chinese communities around the world." The club and the league also apologised, and China's foreign ministry said it took the apology "seriously". China Media Group has acknowledged the apologies but has not commented on how long the broadcast blackout will last. The joke caused particular offence in China, where Mao is revered by the Communist Party. He led the party to victory in the civil war and founded the People's Republic of China before his death in 1976. His rule encompassed the Great Leap Forward and the Cultural Revolution, periods that included a famine which killed tens of millions and violent purges across Chinese society. Beijing has suspended sports broadcasts over political sensitivities before. It pulled NBA games for a year from October 2019 after Daryl Morey, then general manager of the Houston Rockets, tweeted in support of Hong Kong protesters during widespread pro-democracy demonstrations in the city. Morey backtracked after fierce criticism from Chinese fans, sponsors and commercial partners, later writing that offending or misunderstanding them "was not my intention". Sunday's match itself ended in a 3-0 win for Real Madrid over Racing Santander, with goals from Mbappé, Jude Bellingham and Yan Diomande.