The president of the French Football Federation has said Kylian Mbappé had no intention of insulting or offending the Chinese people, RFI reported on Thursday. The statement from the federation's head followed a controversy over remarks by the France forward that drew criticism in China.
RFI did not detail in its headline what Mbappé said or when the remarks were made. The federation's intervention places the matter at the level of French football governance rather than club or player alone.
Coverage of the episode extended beyond the original remarks. Voice of America reported that the affair renewed outside attention to Mao Zedong's identity as a dictator. Wenxuecity reported that Real Madrid had initially been reluctant to issue any statement on Mbappé's comments, citing concern about the club's commercial interests in China. Sina News reported that the president of La Liga said the Spanish league would not allow an individual to damage its cooperation with China and that efforts were under way to communicate and defuse the situation.
The range of responses — from the French federation, the player's club and the Spanish league — indicates the remarks were treated as a commercial and diplomatic issue as much as a sporting one, given the Chinese market's importance to European football.
What to watch next: whether Mbappé himself issues a direct statement, and whether Real Madrid or La Liga follow the French federation with formal positions.