The controversy surrounding Lionel Messi continues in mainland China, with the latest episode of CCTV’s popular football program “Total Soccer,” broadcast on February 12th, having replaced all footage of Messi in its opening sequence. Additionally, in CCTV’s weather forecast program, advertisements featuring Messi have also been replaced.
According to earlier reports, the opening sequence of “Total Soccer,” which airs on CCTV every Monday night, has replaced all footage of Messi. The most prominent change is the final few seconds, which originally featured Messi leading Argentina to victory in the World Cup, replaced by an image of Philipp Lahm lifting the World Cup trophy as the captain of the German team in 2014. The segment that previously showed Messi celebrating in a Barcelona jersey was replaced with images of a trumpeter playing.
Apart from Messi, all other footage, content, and music in the segment remained unchanged, indicating that only Messi’s footage was removed. Some netizens also discovered that Messi’s goals, previously included in the program’s annual top 100 goals selection, have been replaced.
“Total Soccer” has been broadcast on CCTV since 2000, with each episode lasting 50 minutes and featuring highlights of important matches, news, features, top ten goals, and saves, making it the most influential football-themed television program in mainland China.
In addition to the deletion of the opening sequence of “Total Soccer,” attentive fans have noticed that in CCTV’s recent weather forecast programs, advertisements featuring Messi have also been replaced.
In the weather forecast on February 7th, when reporting on Guiyang, the background image was an advertisement for “Chishui River Liquor,” a mainland Chinese liquor endorsed by Messi. However, by February 8th, the background image had changed from Messi’s advertisement to a picture of the city of Guiyang.
Messi arrived in Hong Kong with Paris Saint-Germain for a friendly match, but ultimately did not play. However, upon arrival in Japan, he played for over half an hour with great vigor. The “Messi controversy” has gradually evolved into a political storm, with a large number of netizens and fans calling for a boycott. The Argentine national team was scheduled to play friendly matches in Hangzhou and Beijing in March, but the Hangzhou Sports Bureau has announced the cancellation of the event. The Beijing Football Association stated that there are currently no plans to hold any matches involving Messi in Beijing.