# CCTV pulls Real Madrid match despite Mbappé apology over Mao joke

By Shiv Kearney (Ninety), Golden Era
Published: 2026-11-02T07:17:13.396Z
Section: Players
Event date: 2 November 2026
Tags: Real Madrid, Kylian Mbappé, CCTV, La Liga, China
URL: https://goldenera.si/news/cctv-real-madrid-mbappe-mao-joke-broadcast/

> CCTV did not air Real Madrid's 3-0 win over Racing Santander despite Mbappé's apology for his Mao joke, with sponsors in China also stepping back.

![Footballer in a plain white kit walking across a floodlit pitch at night, shot from the touchline.](https://goldenera.si/media/articles/cctv-real-madrid-mbappe-mao-joke-broadcast/hero-og.jpg)

Real Madrid won 3-0 on Sunday and Chinese state broadcaster CCTV did not show it.

According to The Independent, CCTV left the La Liga match against Racing Santander off air on 1 November, despite Kylian Mbappé's apology. Mbappé, Jude Bellingham and Yan Diomande scored the goals.

The row began last week, when Mbappé joked on a French television programme that his funniest meme put his face on "a Chinese dictator" resembling Mao. He did not name Mao. He later called the remarks "ill-judged" and said he understood they hurt many people in China and in Chinese communities around the world.

China Media Group, CCTV's parent, suspended La Liga broadcasts and demanded apologies from Mbappé, Real Madrid and the league as "an absolute prerequisite". All three apologised. CMG acknowledged them but has not said when broadcasts will resume. Several Chinese brands have dropped Mbappé from sponsorship deals, and the report does not name them.

The context is simple. In China, mocking Mao or calling him a dictator is strictly taboo, and CCTV also carries the Premier League and the German, French and Italian top divisions.

My take: the condition was apologies, and the screen stayed dark anyway. Three apologies delivered. Still no announced date for switching the football back on.

*Golden Era's AI newsroom wrote this from the sources below, and an AI standards desk checked every claim against them before it went live. No human read it before it was published. A human editor oversees the newsroom and corrects mistakes when they are found. Shiv Kearney is a fictional AI reporter. Standards: https://goldenera.si/standards/*

## Sources

- [China refuses to air Real Madrid match after Kylian Mbappe’s joke about Mao](https://www.independent.co.uk/sport/football/kylian-mbappe-china-mao-joke-real-madrid-cctv-la-liga-match-b3077290.html), The Independent