BEIJING: China said Wednesday it took "seriously" an apology from Real Madrid superstar Kylian Mbappe after comments he made poking fun at Mao Zedong sparked a social media storm and saw Spanish football yanked off state TV.
Mocking former leader Mao – blamed by historians for millions of deaths – is taboo in China and the French player's remarks saw him become the latest foreign sports figure to anger Beijing.
The clip of the video interview with French show The Bridge – since taken down – saw Mbappe talk about being amused by an internet meme of his face photoshopped onto "some guy, think he's a Chinese dictator", an apparent reference to Mao.
"My comment was ill-judged and I now understand that it hurt many people in China and in Chinese communities around the world. I apologise to everyone my words have upset," the France captain said in a statement in French, Chinese and English on Tuesday.
