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French and Real Madrid superstar Kylian Mbappe has issued an apology for his comments, seemingly referring to Mao Zedong, the founding leader of Communist China, after Chinese broadcasters pulled off coverage of Spanish league football, along with any matches featuring Mbappe, in response to his remarks, reported Goal.com.
The controversy stemmed from a video of Mbappe's interview ahead of going on French online talk show 'The Bridge' circulating on X. In the video, Mbappe, often referred to as 'dictator' by fans for his influence on on-field action during matches, was asked about gus favourite meme, to which the superstar footballer replied that it was "a video someone made of a guy ... I think he was a Chinese dictator", before the video showed an altered image of Mbappe's face on Zedong's blue-suited body. Also, a prominent Chinese sports website, Dongqiudi, took a step in response to his remarks, deleting Mbapp's name from official ranking of the 2026 Ballon d'Or and replacing it with the phrase "ch w c rn", which roughly translates to "no such person exists" or "the person does not exist". Harry Kane, the English and Bayern Munich footballer, went on to win the Ballon d'Or, the highest individual award in football, while Mbapp finished second. Mbappe issued an apology on Tuesday on his social media. "During a recent interview, I reacted to an image of myself," he said. "My comment was ill-judged, and I now understand that it hurts many people in China and in Chinese communities around the world. I apologise to everyone my words have upset. This was absolutely not my intention. I have deep respect for the Chinese people and their history and I am sincerely sorry," the statement added. Javier Tebas, the president of La Liga, also issued an apology to the Chinese people on the association's behalf, posting on X, "We are aware of the harm this matter has caused, and I would like, on behalf of the Spanish league association, to offer our sincere apology to the Chinese people." He also warned of the fallout the incident could have caused for Spanish football regarding their fandom in China, saying, "We cannot allow an individual act to tarnish this relationship or harm more than 20 clubs that take part in our professional competitions, as well as millions of Chinese fans." (ANI)
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