French football chief defends Mbappe amid Chinese backlash over remarks on Mao

By Gizem Nisa Demir

ISTANBUL (AA) – The head of the French Football Federation (FFF) defended Kylian Mbappe on Thursday, saying the Real Madrid forward should be allowed to move on after apologizing for remarks about late Chinese leader Mao Zedong, local media reported.

Mbappe, 27, sparked a backlash in China after referring to Mao as a dictator while discussing a social media meme on a French podcast.

"It is a controversy which, ultimately, should not, I hope, last because Kylian has very well explained the context in which this intervention took place. He has apologized," federation head Philippe Diallo told French newspaper Ouest-France.

"I believe we should now leave it at that so that he can continue his season in the best possible conditions," he added.

Chinese state-owned broadcaster Migu will not show Real Madrid's match this Sunday against Racing Santander. Chinese brands Mengniu, Shanghai Milkground Food Tech and Eastroc Beverage have also ended their cooperation with Mbappe.

Real Madrid and LaLiga have issued apologies, while league President Javier Tebas established a crisis unit and met Chinese Ambassador Yao Jing on Wednesday to address the fallout.

The controversy stems from an online meme depicting Mbappe as a political leader, reflecting jokes about his influence at club level. In the now-deleted podcast video, he described the figure as "some guy — I think he's a Chinese dictator."

China Daily said the remarks had "triggered a backlash among his Chinese fans, threatened his lucrative commercial relationships and offered a sharp reminder of the limits of celebrity influence."

Gizem Nisa Çebi Demir