European soccer’s apology to China

Real Madrid forward Kylian Mbappe has never been shy about politics. In June 2024, ahead of France’s snap parliamentary elections, the France captain warned that “the extremes are at the gates of power.” During this year’s FIFA World Cup, fans dressed him up online as a dictator. Last month, he told France Football the memes were less funny once you remembered “the damage that people like that have caused throughout history.” Some of them, he said, showed “a lack of political and human awareness.”

This month, a meme cost him more than any of his political statements ever had. A video from the French show The Bridge showed Mbappe laughing at a meme that pasted his face onto the body of Mao Zedong (毛澤東). He was not making a political point. He was laughing at a meme. Beijing turned it into a diplomatic affair.

On Tuesday, three Chinese companies ended their deals with him with immediate effect, with one citing “a zero-tolerance policy toward any behavior that offends national sentiments.” State broadcaster China Central Television (CCTV) dropped Spanish La Liga.

Then came the apologies. Mbappe said sorry in three languages, Mandarin included, and spoke of his deep respect for Chinese and their history. La Liga apologized. Real Madrid apologized to Chinese. On, the Swiss sportswear brand that signed him last month, welcomed his apology and spoke of its “deep respect” for China. Hublot and Dior removed posts featuring him from their Chinese social media accounts. The Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesman Guo Jiakun (郭嘉昆) said Beijing took the apology “seriously.” He did not say that Beijing accepted it.

Between 1959 and 1961, Mao’s Great Leap Forward caused a famine that killed tens of millions of people. Calling him a dictator is what textbooks do. Apologizing to Beijing for a meme turns a fact into an offense.

Taiwanese have seen this movie before. On Jan. 15, 2016, the eve of the presidential election, Chou Tzu-yu (周子瑜) read a statement on camera. The Taiwanese singer, 16 years old at the time, was a member of the South Korean band Twice. She said there was “only one China.” Her offense had been to hold the Republic of China flag on South Korean television, and she had just lost a Huawei advertising deal. Many Taiwanese compared the video to a hostage tape. Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) won the presidential election the next day.

In May, Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Francois Wu (吳志中) spoke at the European Parliament. Wu described how Chinese vessels harass ships crossing the Taiwan Strait. He said that, their message can be interpreted as: “If you don’t want to be harassed, you must first get my consent.”

That rule now covers soccer players and running shoes as well.

Companies usually bend. In 2018, China told foreign airlines to list Taiwan as part of China on their Web sites. The White House called it “Orwellian nonsense.” By the July deadline, most airlines had complied.

US sport was an exception. In 2019, Daryl Morey, then-general manager of the Houston Rockets, tweeted his support for Hong Kong protesters. CCTV pulled NBA broadcasts. NBA commissioner Adam Silver later said Beijing had asked him to fire Morey, and that there was “no chance” of that happening. The league admitted “substantial” losses, but it survived them.

European soccer picked the other script. Real Madrid did not need to apologize to keep playing soccer. Neither did a Swiss shoe company that has not yet sold a single soccer boot.

Taiwan cannot pay clubs to be brave, but it can make bravery cheaper. It has a decade of case files, from pop singers to airlines. Taiwan’s representative offices in Europe could share them with players’ unions such as FIFPRO, while no case is running. The message would be simple: An opinion about a dead dictator is not a breach of contract.

Taiwanese companies could add a lighter touch. A Taiwanese brand willing to sign a soccer player who laughs at Mao would buy more goodwill in Europe than a year of tourism campaigns.

In Brussels, Wu also told European lawmakers that Taiwan must become a core interest of Europe. On last week’s evidence, Europe’s clubs already have a core interest — the Chinese market.

Romain Blachier is an associate fellow at the Fondation Jean-Jaures, and a consultant and lecturer in energy and international relations.