Real Madrid issues apology to China over Mbappe’s Mao remarks

Read the original at South China Morning Post ↗
Cite

Zhen, L. (2026, October 28). Real Madrid issues apology to China over Mbappe’s Mao remarks. South China Morning Post. https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3372485/real-madrid-issues-apology-china-over-mbappes-mao-remarks

Dated from the outlet's own feed. Check the original for its byline.

South China Morning Post · collected 2026-10-28 · by Liu Zhen

Quick Summary

Real Madrid has apologized to China for remarks made by their star player Kylian Mbappe about Mao Zedong, following a rebuke from Chinese state broadcaster CCTV Sports. The club issued its apology on Wednesday after initially responding to the controversy with what was deemed an insufficient statement by Chinese authorities, who then suspended broadcasts of La Liga matches and removed programs featuring Mbappe.
Written locally by qwen2.5:14b on 2026-10-28, using this article's own text rather than the other coverage of the same event (that is the story summary below).

AI analysis runs on qwen2.5:14b, locally

Story summary

Kylian Mbappe, a French football star and forward for Real Madrid, sparked outrage in China after joking about a viral meme that superimposed his face onto Mao Zedong’s body. The late Mao is revered in China as the country's founding leader, but critics noted that comparing him to a dictator was highly sensitive given his authoritarian rule. Following Mbappe's comments during an interview on a French podcast, several major Chinese companies, including Mengniu and Shanghai Milkground Food Tech, terminated their partnerships with him.

The controversy escalated when China’s state television network CCTV Sports suspended broadcasts of La Liga matches involving Real Madrid and removed all advertisements featuring Mbappe. In response to the backlash, Real Madrid issued a formal apology on October 28, 2026, addressing "any discomfort" caused by Mbappe's remarks and reaffirming their respect for China. The incident underscores the delicate nature of cultural sensitivities in the lucrative Chinese market, where satire about historical figures like Mao remains taboo.

Written for “Mbaope Mao Meme Controversy” on 2026-10-28, grounded in this article and the 6 other(s) covering the same event.
Why this leaning score
The article's own words the score was based on. Each is quoted verbatim and was checked against the article text before being stored, so you can find it in the original.
Reading Leans left (beta estimate) Confidence high
Leaning: leans left for article 112357 (high confidence, 3 verified quotes) · logged 2026-10-28

Story

📰 Mbaope Mao Meme Controversy
Sports · 7 article(s) covering the same event. Compare every outlet's account →

Compared with similar articles

This article reads leans left and hedges 0% of its claims. Each row says how that neighbour differs.
Real Madrid apologise to Chinese people over Mbappe's Mao 'dictator' comment same event · 100%
The Hindu · 0.89 cosine similarity
⚖️ Leans right further right than this 🔴 0% hedged 0 of 9 📰 publisher trust 78
“Both articles describe Real Madrid issuing an apology to China on October 28, 2026, over Kylian Mbappe's comments regarding Mao Zedong.”
Real Madrid issues apology to China over Mbappe controversy after state-run TV demands it same event · 100%
Fox News · 0.85 cosine similarity
⚖️ leaning not scored 🔴 18% hedged 3 of 17 📰 publisher trust 70
“Both articles describe Real Madrid issuing an apology to China over Kylian Mbappe's controversial remarks about Mao Zedong on the same date.”
Mbappe faces backlash in China for meme fiasco different event · 85%
Al Jazeera
⚖️ leaning not scored 🔴 0% hedged 0 of 3 📰 publisher trust 60
“While both articles discuss reactions to Kylian Mbappe's controversial meme in China, Article A focuses on Chinese brands ending partnerships with Mbappe, while Article B reports on Real Madrid issuing an apology for the incident.”
What is the controversy between Real Madrid’s Kylian Mbappe and China? different event · 80%
Al Jazeera
⚖️ Leans right further right than this 🔴 1% hedged 1 of 68 📰 publisher trust 60
“Article A discusses Kylian Mbappe's controversial comments and their repercussions, while Article B reports on Real Madrid issuing an apology in response to those remarks. Although related, they describe different specific actions and responses.”
‘Not accepted. Not forgiven!!’ : French superstar’s ‘dictator Mao’ meme ignites fury in China different event · 75%
The Sydney Morning Herald
⚖️ Leans right further right than this 🔴 0% hedged 0 of 33 📰 publisher trust 61
“While both articles discuss Kylian Mbappé's controversial meme and its consequences in China, Article A focuses on the initial reactions of Chinese companies and LaLiga, whereas Article B reports on Real Madrid issuing an apology to China. These describe different stages of the same broader issue but are not describing a single specific incident.”
How this article was measured signals, leaning charts, publisher record, byline, topics and claims

Signals How these are calculated →

Claims extracted
3
sentences that state something as happening or true
Uncertain
0%
0 of 3 hedged ("reportedly", "may", "according to")
Leaning
Leans left
of the writing, not the subject · beta estimate
Publisher signals
64/100
South China Morning Post's corrections and hedging, across everything collected from it. Not a measure of accuracy.
Outlets on this story
7
Sports
Same framing elsewhere
1
articles that frame the event the way this one does
Analyzed 2026-10-28 · how these are computed

How this is being covered How these are calculated →

Article leaning vs. publisher reliability
Source leaning vs. consistency

Publisher

South China Morning Post · 3278 article(s) · 6 correction(s) detected
Running correction rate · 6 correction(s)
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Who wrote this

Liu Zhen
18 article(s) here · 0 carrying a prediction
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Nothing else under this byline is closely related to this article, so these are simply their most recent.
All 18 articles by Liu Zhen →

Topics

CCTV Sports China Chinese Real Madrid Spanish

Subjects

Chinese NORP · 4× China GPE · 3× Mbappe PERSON · 3× CCTV Sports ORG · 2× Real Madrid ORG · 2× Spanish NORP · 2× French NORP · 1× Kylian Mbappe’s PERSON · 1× Mao PERSON · 1× Mao Zedong PERSON · 1×

Narrative

Real Madrid issues apology to China over Mbappe’s Mao remarks Spanish football club seeks to quell anger after its initial response was rejected by Chinese state broadcaster CCTV Sports Real Madrid has issued an apology to China over Kylian Mbappe’s controversial remarks about the late Chinese leader Mao Zedong, after the Spanish football club’s initial response failed to quell anger in China.
framing: assertive · carried by 1 article(s) · first seen 2026-10-28
2026-10-28 · South China Morning Post
Real Madrid issues apology to China over Mbappe’s Mao remarks · assertive framing

Claims (3 extracted, 0 hedged)

Real Madrid issues apology to China over Mbappe’s Mao remarks Spanish football club seeks to quell anger after its initial response was rejected by Chinese state broadcaster CCTV Sports Real Madrid has issued an apology to China over Kylian Mbappe’s controversial remarks about the late Chinese leader Mao Zedong, after the Spanish football club’s initial response failed to quell anger in China. asserted
response → issue → China
In a statement published on its website on Wednesday, the club apologised to the Chinese people for “any discomfort” caused by the French footballer’s remarks, a day after Mbappe issued his own public apology. asserted
Mbappe → publish → apology
The apology came after Chinese state broadcaster CCTV Sports rejected Real Madrid’s initial explanation as inadequate, suspending broadcasts of La Liga matches and removing programmes and advertisements featuring Mbappe while demanding apologies from both the club and the player. asserted
Sports → come → club
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