World
China punishes Mbappé: the price of a controversial meme over Mao
A joke about a meme has triggered a crisis between Killian Mbappé and China. The French striker reacted in an interview to a manipulated image that represented him as Mao Zedong, a former Chinese leader he referred to as a dictator. The controversy has had commercial and sports consequences: three Chinese companies have broken their agreements with the football player and state television has suspended LaLiga's broadcasts in which the gala comes out. Mbappé, the Spanish competition and Real Madrid have apologized. Why has the reference to Mao caused such a strong reaction and