China follows through on its threat: Mbappe's controversial video punishes Real Madrid!
A hat-trick on the pitch and an absence from the screens
Kylian Mbappé's comments did not pass unnoticed in China. They spiralled into a crisis that pulled Real Madrid off Chinese screens entirely, an unusual sight that laid bare the fallout from a video clip of the French star. The footage sparked widespread anger over an insult it contained towards former Chinese leader Mao Zedong.
China have made good on their threat. Real Madrid's eleventh-round La Liga meeting with Racing Santander never appeared on Chinese television, carrying out the warnings that followed the Mbappé controversy.
French website "Foot Mercato" reported that Chinese television did not broadcast the match, a 3-0 Real Madrid win, after a clip spread in which Mbappé described Mao Zedong, the former leader of China, as a dictator.
According to Agence France-Presse, neither of the two sports channels belonging to China's broadcasting and television authority "CCTV" showed the game. Nor did it surface on Migu, one of the country's most prominent digital streaming services.
The blackout went beyond Real Madrid's fixture. The French agency noted that not a single match from this La Liga round had reached Chinese television so far, a striking development that landed right as the Mbappé clip caught fire.
Here lies the irony. Migu kept carrying other matches from the competition, including Barcelona's 6-1 demolition of Deportivo Alavés on Saturday, which made the absence of Real Madrid's game all the more glaring.
On the pitch, none of the off-field noise touched Real Madrid. They eased to a deserved 3-0 win over hosts Racing Santander at the El Sardinero stadium.
Victory kept the Royal Club's momentum going, trimming the gap to league leaders Barcelona to three points and firming up their grip on third place.
So Madrid walked away with a huge win in the title race and an unexpected media crisis in the Chinese market. Mbappé's comments cost his fans out there the chance to watch one of the team's matches, and raised questions about how the incident might shape the club's relationship with Chinese media platforms.
