Mbappe should be allowed to move on from Mao scandal, says French federation boss

Mbappe's club Real Madrid and LaLiga ‌have also apologised following the remarks, while the league's ‌president Javier Tebas set up a crisis unit and met ‌Chinese ambassador Yao Jing on Wednesday as Spanish football sought ‌to contain the fallout.

The backlash highlights the risks for athletes and brands in the lucrative Chinese market, where satire about Mao, modern China's ‌founding leader who governed the country from ⁠1949 until his death in ‌1976, remains a social taboo.

Chinese state media outlet China Daily said ​Mbappe's remark had "triggered a backlash among his Chinese fans, threatened his lucrative commercial relationships and offered a sharp ​reminder of the limits of celebrity influence."

China's state-owned broadcaster Migu is not showing Real Madrid's game at Racing Santander on ⁠Sunday, and Chinese brands ​including dairy companies Mengniu and Shanghai Milkground Food Tech plus Eastroc Beverage ceased all cooperation with Mbappe.

Diallo expressed hope the issue would soon be resolved.

"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 apologised," Diallo was quoted as saying by French newspaper Ouest-France on Thursday.

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

The controversy stems from a long-running joke surrounding 27-year-old Mbappe's influence at club level.

In a video on a French ‌podcast that has since been taken down, Mbappe is heard ​discussing a humorous meme where his face had been ‌photoshopped onto that of "some guy - I think he's a Chinese dictator."

Fans have previously created memes superimposing Mbappe's face on images of military and political leaders to suggest he has the power to influence decisions at the teams ⁠he plays for. Mbappe has ⁠been nicknamed 'the dictator' in ‌the European press.