Chinese authorities confirmed on Wednesday that they are taking the apology of French Real Madrid football player Kylian Mbappe seriously regarding his remarks, which appeared to joke about former Chinese leader Mao Zedong. This comes as the French star struggles to contain a wave of anger on Chinese social media, a storm that led to the suspension of La Liga matches' broadcast in China.
For his part, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Guo Jiakun said during a regular press conference: "We take the apology submitted by the person concerned seriously." Jokes about Mao, the founder of the People's Republic of China who died in 1976, are considered offensive in China and remain a social taboo.
Several Chinese brands have suspended their cooperation with Mbappe, and official Chinese television cancelled the broadcast of La Liga matches. The Real Madrid striker apologized on Tuesday after stating that the funniest image circulating online of him was one where his face was digitally superimposed onto a picture of "some man, I think he is a Chinese dictator," seemingly referring to Mao.
The French national team captain added in a statement published in French, Chinese, and English on Tuesday: "My comment was unfortunate, and I now realize it hurt the feelings of many people in China and Chinese communities around the world. I apologize to anyone offended by my words." The La Liga, whose matches were suspended in China, confirmed on Tuesday that it "deeply regrets the offense caused by Kylian Mbappe's recent remarks to Chinese fans."
It was noted that Real Madrid also expressed regret for any offense caused by its player's remarks. A statement from the royal club read: "Real Madrid wishes to apologize to the Chinese people for any offense caused by the recent remarks of our player Kylian Mbappe." Chinese state media had previously praised Mbappe, describing him as a "football phenomenon" and a "talent," and the striker enjoys widespread popularity among the public in the country.
It added that his image spreads across billboards, on salted beverage packaging, and on social media platforms. Mbappe is also sometimes known by the nickname "Guiji" in China, a word meaning "turtle," due to his resemblance to a character from the "Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles" movie.
It pointed out that the Chinese giant beverage group "Dongpeng," which used AI-generated images of Mbappe in its advertisements during this year's World Cup, announced on Tuesday the termination of its partnership with the player. This was also done by dairy companies "Mengniu" and "Milkgro."
Source: Arriyadiyah newspaper
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