Havana, October 29 (RHC) – Kylian Mbappé will disappear from the Chinese versions of several football video games following the controversy over his comments on a meme, according to several media outlets today.
The sanction will shift the controversy to the virtual pitch of EA Sports FC Online, the edition published in China by Tencent, and to Konami’s PES, PES Online, and PES Mobile titles, all linked to the eFootball franchise.
EA Sports announced via its official WeChat channel an update to remove the Real Madrid striker, while Konami will also remove the player’s cards and omit his name from promotional materials for those games.
Both companies expressed their disapproval of comments that could offend the Chinese people, in a corporate response that makes the French striker’s image the center of a dispute that extends far beyond the playing field.
The spark ignited during an interview on The Bridge Show, when the footballer, asked about his favorite meme, recalled a montage that superimposed his face onto that of Mao Zedong, whom he identified as a Chinese dictator.
The French international explained that he was sharing the image with his friends while they were playing video games, an anecdote that sparked outrage in China and strained his business ties in the country.
Both Mbappé and representatives from LaLiga issued apologies, but these gestures did not prevent the announcement of his upcoming departure from Chinese digital rosters.
