Tenzin Nyidon
DHARAMSHALA, Sept. 3: Spanish football powerhouse Real Madrid has deleted a social media post referring to victims of the devastating Tibet-Nepal floods, days after the club came under intense criticism from Chinese state media and online users for using the word “Tibet” rather than Beijing’s sinicised term “Xizang.”
The post, which had appeared on Real Madrid’s official social media platforms on August 30, featured a photograph of players observing a minute’s silence at the Santiago Bernabéu for victims of the catastrophic floods and landslides that struck communities on both sides of the Tibet-Nepal border on August 26. The accompanying message referred to those affected in “Nepal and Tibet.”
The post was removed on September 3, following mounting criticism in China. Although Real Madrid has not publicly stated that the deletion was made in response to Chinese pressure, its removal came after Chinese state-affiliated media and online users repeatedly demanded that the club retract or amend the wording.
The Global Times, a Chinese Communist Party mouthpiece, urged Real Madrid to replace “Tibet” with “China’s Xizang”, arguing that the club’s humanitarian gesture had been overshadowed by what it described as politically inaccurate wording. The newspaper stressed that “Xizang is an inalienable part of China” and said placing it alongside the sovereign nation of Nepal ran counter to the one-China principle. Chinese social media users also piled pressure on the club, calling for the post to be deleted and for Real Madrid to issue an apology.
The criticism was accompanied by a pointed reminder of the club’s commercial stakes in the Chinese market. The Global Times noted that Real Madrid commands a sizeable following in China and has cultivated long-term commercial interests across Asia, warning that the club’s public communications are therefore expected to meet a higher threshold of sensitivity when addressing territorial issues.
The deletion marks a striking turn in a controversy that began with what was ostensibly a humanitarian gesture. A football club’s expression of solidarity with victims of a natural disaster has instead become entangled in one of China’s most sensitive political fault lines: the terminology used to describe Tibet.
Beijing officially refers to Tibet as “Xizang” and has increasingly sought to promote that terminology in international discourse. The Chinese government regards Tibet as an integral part of the People’s Republic of China (PRC) and strongly objects to language that, in its view, treats Tibet as a separate political entity.
Real Madrid’s decision to remove the post, without publicly explaining the reason, has therefore raised questions over the extent to which China’s political sensitivities can shape the public communications of major international brands seeking to maintain relations with Chinese audiences.
The episode also illustrates how the language surrounding Tibet has become a contested arena far beyond diplomatic and political circles. Even a condolence message from one of the world’s most prominent football clubs has been subjected to scrutiny over whether it conforms to Beijing’s preferred nomenclature.
The dispute comes as the humanitarian toll from the August 26 disaster continues to mount. A massive ice-and-rock avalanche near the Tibet-Nepal border unleashed catastrophic flash floods, devastating communities and infrastructure and leaving thousands dead or missing. As of September 3, Nepal had recorded at least 1,252 deaths, while more than 4,200 people remained missing. Across the border in occupied Tibet, Chinese authorities have officially acknowledged 16 deaths and hundreds of people missing, even as Kyirong—one of the hardest-hit areas—bore the brunt of the devastating floods. The stark disparity in reported casualties has fuelled concerns over the transparency and completeness of information coming from the Tibetan side of the border.
