UFO as in Unidentified Flying Object

Translation of the article:

According to The Paper, China Media Group (CMG), China's state broadcaster, has confirmed that CCTV stopped broadcasting La Liga matches and advertisements involving Kylian Mbappé starting last night, citing what it described as Mbappé's seriously negative conduct concerning China.

The report does not specify how long the suspension will last.

Context

Mbappé had reportedly told French talk show The Bridge the meme "that makes me laugh the most, it's the one where there's a video of a guy, I think it's a Chinese dictator..." He then laughs as the clip cuts to a meme showing his face superimposed on an image resembling Mao.

The meme is part of a running joke about the Real Madrid forward being called a "dictator" because of his huge influence in football.

Video in question

Respect, harmony, and unity among people of all cultures are fundamental values of Spanish football. Based on these principles, we reaffirm our respect for China, its institutions, and its people, as well as our commitment to the millions of fans who support us every week.

Javier Tebas, president of LALIGA, stated: “I would like to personally apologize to Chinese fans for the offense caused. I have deep respect for China, its institutions, and its people, and I value the trust with which they have supported our soccer for so many years. As president of LALIGA, I take responsibility for working with our clubs and players to strengthen understanding of and respect for different cultures. We want to nurture this relationship through concrete actions, and we will implement specific measures to help ensure that situations like this do not happen again.”

This commitment will take the form of an awareness and communication protocol that we will develop together with the clubs and players. Its implementation will complement the work we are already doing with our partners and institutional counterparts in China to address the situation.

Training is taking place as usual.

MUFC now looking for a response at Stamford Bridge.

China had completely missed this video until Monday, October 26, when it was dug up by the Chinese football-focused website Dongqiudi, which warned that Kylian Mbappé had made offensive remarks about the Chinese people, without actually airing the remarks. In the video, he is asked a question referencing viral memes from the 2026 World Cup showing the French international dressed up as a dictator. “Which meme featuring your face made you laugh the most?” asks Aurélien Tchouaméni. The forward replies: “The one that made me laugh the most was when they posted a video of a guy, I think he’s a Chinese dictator. [...] I use it a lot with my friends online, for PlayStation.”

Official US Select Committee on China Statement:

International soccer star @KMbappe should not apologize for calling Mao Zedong a dictator. Mao was a dictator, and by orders of magnitude, he did more harm to the Chinese people than a comment from a soccer player ever could. Mao was the leader of the CCP for decades and his dictatorship and disastrous policies killed tens of millions of Chinese people in the Cultural Revolution, the Great Famine, and other atrocities.

Involved in the Party from its first national meeting in 1921, Mao is the principal historical figure for a Party that continues his practices of oppression and ideological purges. For decades, the CCP has denied the Chinese people basic human rights including freedom of expression and freedom of religion. These are rights enjoyed by Mbappe and millions of people around the world and Mbappe should exercise this opportunity to tell the horrific truth about Mao’s dictatorship.

The real disgrace in this news story is the companies rushing to apologize so they can continue to do business in China. The CCP is the largest oppressor of the Chinese people and their human rights, and those businesses that work with the CCP help normalize its crushing brutality.