The response from Chinese state media to the Real Madrid forward’s apology, published on Tuesday in French, Mandarin and English, was that it was not nearly enough. As reported by The Globe and Mail, a China Media Group representative warned on 27 October that the state broadcaster would “listen to his words, but watch his actions even more closely” and said it hoped “La Liga, Real Madrid, and Mbappe himself will genuinely learn a lesson from this, offer a sincere apology, and thoroughly correct their mistakes”.

Weibo was less diplomatic. “Not accepted. Not forgiven!!” one user wrote in a post that drew hundreds of likes. “He doesn’t realise he was wrong. He just knows to be afraid now,” another said.

A podcast clip, a Mao meme

The crisis started with a video. On the French podcast The Bridge, Mbappe was asked about his favorite meme of himself and said: “The one that made me laugh the most is the one where they put my face on a Chinese dictator. I use it a lot with my friends.” The image photoshopped his head onto Mao Zedong’s body. The clip was reportedly filmed in April but only went viral in China on Monday.

By 27 October three major Chinese partners had cut ties with him: Eastroc Beverage, which owns the Dongpeng drinks brand, the dairy giant Mengniu and the cheese maker Shanghai Milkground Food Tech. Each said in near-identical statements that they “firmly oppose and have zero tolerance for any words or actions that hurt the feelings of the Chinese people” and that cooperation was ending with immediate effect.

Read also: Misses out on Ballon d’Or: Lamine Yamal sends message after ceremony

China’s state television went further and suspended its broadcasts of LaLiga entirely, pulling the Spanish league off air rather than only removing Mbappe-related content. The Chinese Football Association lodged a formal protest with Real Madrid, demanding a public apology from both the club and the player.

The apology, and Tebas on the phone

Mbappe’s statement, published on his official channels, was unqualified.

“My comment was ill-judged, and I now understand that it hurt many people in China and in Chinese communities around the world. I apologize to everyone my words have upset. This was absolutely not my intention. I have deep respect for the Chinese people and their history, and I am sincerely sorry.”

LaLiga did not wait to see how it would be received. President Javier Tebas met the Chinese ambassador to Spain, Yao Jing, the same day and said the league was looking for ways to “overcome this episode”. His commitment, he said, was “to keep working together so that an individual episode does not harm the important advances achieved nor affect the millions of Chinese fans who follow our competitions”, adding that “China is and will continue to be a strategic partner for LaLiga”.

Read also: NBA rookie went from hero to heartbreak in seconds before Jayson Tatum made history

LaLiga has a strategic agreement with the Chinese Super League that runs to 2029 and treats the Chinese market as central to its Asia growth plan. Neither CCTV nor Eastroc, Mengniu or Milkground has set a date for reviewing their decisions.

Read also: Bayern CEO clears up transfer rumors: “Big names alone won’t help us”