Mbappe dropped by two Chinese brands over video referencing Mao Zedong

BEIJING, Oct 27 — Kylian Mbappe was dropped Tuesday by two major brands in China after a video circulated online in which the French football star apparently joked about former leader Mao Zedong.

“Our company firmly opposes and has a zero-tolerance policy towards any behaviour that offends national sentiments,” drinks giant Dongpeng said in a statement, adding that “with immediate effect we are terminating all cooperation with Kylian Mbappe”.

Mengniu, China’s largest dairy producer, also cut ties with the Real Madrid and France forward.

“With immediate effect our company is terminating all cooperation with Kylian Mbappe,” Mengniu said in a statement.

“Mengniu firmly opposes and has a zero-tolerance policy towards any words or actions that hurt the feelings of the Chinese people,” it added.

The announcements came after a video emerged online with Mbappe saying that the funniest internet meme he had seen was of his face photoshopped onto that of “some guy — I think he’s a Chinese dictator”.

This was an apparent reference to a meme of Mbappe superimposed on an image of Mao, one of several using the footballer’s face and other historical figures.

The authenticity of the video could not immediately be verified by AFP Fact Check.

“Dongpeng Beverage ends cooperation with Mbappe” was the top-trending topic on Chinese social media site Weibo.

The 27-year-old Mbappe lost out to Harry Kane for the Ballon d’Or on Monday. — AFP

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北京，10 月 27 日——周二，法国足球明星基利安·姆巴佩被中国两大品牌解约，此前一段视频在网上流传，视频中这位法国足球明星似乎在拿前领导人毛泽东开玩笑。

“我公司坚决反对任何冒犯民族情感的行为，并对此采取零容忍政策，”饮料巨头东鹏在一份声明中表示，“我们即日起终止与基利安·姆巴佩的一切合作”。

中国最大的乳制品生产商蒙牛也与这位皇家马德里和法国前锋断绝了关系。

蒙牛在一份声明中表示：“我公司即日起终止与基利安·姆巴佩的一切合作。”

“蒙牛坚决反对任何伤害中国人民感情的言论和行为，并采取零容忍政策。”该公司补充道。

此前，网上流传出一段视频，姆巴佩在视频中说，他见过的最搞笑的网络表情包是将他的脸PS到“某个人——我认为他是中国独裁者”的脸上。

这显然是指将姆巴佩的脸叠加在毛泽东的画像上的表情包，这是众多使用这位足球运动员的脸和其他历史人物的表情包之一。

法新社事实核查部门无法立即核实该视频的真实性。

“东鹏饮料终止与姆巴佩的合作”成为中国社交媒体网站微博上的热门话题。

27岁的姆巴佩周一在金球奖评选中败给了哈里·凯恩。——法新社

“简直超乎想象”：凯恩享受金球奖的荣耀，但目光投向欧冠和世界杯冠军。

哈里·凯恩荣膺金球奖，为他超越奖杯的职业生涯锦上添花

纳达尔将在拉斯维加斯表演赛中重返硬地赛场。

祖基菲里表示，近72%的大型医院的床位等待时间少于8小时。

拉马南：正在考虑为Uyarvu Madani项目提供更多资金，以帮助印度小型创业者。

马来西亚海事执法局一名官员在瓜拉玻璃市水域行动中丧生，另有两人受伤。