BARCELONA, Nov 3 — La Liga president Javier Tebas said Monday he is maintaining dialogue with Chinese authorities in an effort to defuse a row over Kylian Mbappe’s comments about former Chinese leader Mao Zedong.

Chinese state broadcaster CCTV did not air a single La Liga match this weekend, while Real Madrid’s win at Racing Santander on Sunday was also not shown on pay television in the country.

In a clip from an interview with French show The Bridge which has since been taken down, Mbappe had said he was amused by an internet meme showing his face photoshopped onto “some guy, think he’s a Chinese dictator”, an apparent reference to Mao.

Mbappe, Real Madrid and La Liga apologised for the comment after a backlash in China, where mocking former leader Mao — blamed by historians for millions of deaths — is taboo.