A supporter in China burned a France shirt bearing Kylian Mbappé's name and declared 'I will never forgive him' amid a backlash over the footballer's reported comments about a meme apparently depicting Mao Zedong.

The controversy has drawn responses from the player, his club and Spanish football authorities.

Mbappé and Real Madrid have apologised, while La Liga separately expressed regret over the offence caused to Chinese fans.

China Media Group also announced a suspension of La Liga broadcasts and advertisements featuring the player, extending the dispute to television coverage of the Spanish competition.

Mbappé Supporter Announces a Boycott

'I feel extreme anger at what I heard from Mbappé's comments about China,' the supporter said in the published English-language account.

He continued: 'I am imposing a severe boycott on him and I will never forgive him.'

The fan used a lighter to set fire to the shirt after stamping on images of the player. In a separate sequence, another man rips the head from a cut-out of Mbappé and stamps on the torn image, in a further act of protest amid the backlash over the footballer's remarks about the Mao meme

The shirt was identified as a France national team top carrying Mbappé's name, rather than a Real Madrid garment. The supporter's objection concerned the player's remarks about China, not his performances for his club or the French national team.

Mao Zedong founded the People's Republic of China in 1949 and led the country until his death in 1976. He remains central to the Communist Party's official history, and Mbappé's apparent reference to him as a 'Chinese dictator' drew anger because jokes about Mao are widely considered disrespectful and remain politically sensitive in China.

Mao Meme at Centre of Dispute

The controversy centres on an interview clip in which Mbappé discussed a meme showing his face superimposed on an image apparently depicting Mao. Mao was the founding leader of the People's Republic of China.

The interview came from the French programme The Bridge, and the clip was later taken down. The remarks prompted criticism in China, followed by Mbappé's public acknowledgement that his comment had caused hurt among people in the country and Chinese communities elsewhere.

China Media Group Suspends La Liga Coverage

China Media Group (CMG), which oversees public broadcaster CCTV, announced on 27 October that it had suspended La Liga broadcasts and advertisements featuring Mbappé. The group said the decision had been made the previous day.

The suspension concerned coverage of La Liga, rather than only fixtures involving Real Madrid.

Its announced scope therefore extended beyond matches featuring Mbappé, although the decision should not be described as an identical restriction imposed by every Chinese broadcaster or streaming service.

Mbappé and Real Madrid Apologise

Mbappé issued an apology in French, Chinese and English on 27 October, describing his comment as 'ill-judged'. 'My comment was ill-judged and I now understand that it hurt many people in China and in Chinese communities around the world,' he said.

'I apologise to everyone my words have upset,' he added, saying: 'This was absolutely not my intention.'

Real Madrid apologised to the Chinese people on 28 October and said it joined the player's public apology.

La Liga separately expressed regret over the offence caused to Chinese fans. Its response addressed the league's supporters, while Real Madrid's statement came from the club whose player was at the centre of the controversy.

La Liga Seeks to Protect Chinese Fan Relationships

La Liga president Javier Tebas said he had met China's ambassador to Spain to address the situation and seek solutions.

His comments focused on maintaining the competition's relationship with Chinese supporters.

'Our commitment is to keep working together so that an individual episode does not harm the important advances achieved nor affect the millions of Chinese fans who follow our competitions,' he said.

Tebas's response placed the league's wider relationship with its Chinese audience at the centre of its efforts to resolve the dispute, alongside the apologies already issued by Mbappé and Real Madrid.