Real Madrid held a minute of silence at the Santiago Bernabéu stadium in memory of the victims of the floods that hit Nepal and Tibet. The Spanish club published on Tuesday a message about this tribute on the official Instagram account.
China expressed strong displeasure with this post. The Chinese authorities considered that Real Madrid "equated Tibet to an independent country" by mentioning the two territories together, and accused the club of having "essentially fueled disguised separatist discourse."
Chinese state press criticized the club on Wednesday, classifying the joint reference to the two territories as "incorrect." China considers Tibet an autonomous region under its sovereignty and does not recognize it being treated as a separate entity.
The merengue club held this tribute during a game at its stadium, the Santiago Bernabéu, in Madrid, thus seeking to show solidarity with the populations affected by these devastating floods.
