File Photo: A customer uses Alipay to pay for his pill at a shop in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, July 24, 2017. (Xinhua/Chong Voon Chung)

Alipay said on Tuesday that its Chinese advertisements rolling on the sidelines of the UEFA European Championship are aimed at the global market, not specifically for Chinese audiences.

The company said on its Sina Weibo account that virtual technology was real and can provide tailor-made advertisements for people in different countries to see different advertisements, and the same sponsor can also fine-tune the advertisements through technology to display different languages in different countries.

Alipay said that its advertisements "are true," citing a clip of Cristiano Ronaldo scores from the official website of UEFA, European soccer's governing body.

The topic of the advertisements from China on the sidelines of UEFA European Championship is virtual or not has triggered a heated round of online discussion.

FT Chinese Network reported earlier this month that the content of the billboards on the sidelines seen by Chinese audiences are all "virtual", and are tailored specifically for the Chinese market, and is not the same as the billboards seen by the live audience.

But on June 16, the editor from FT Chinese Network apologized at its Sina Weibo account, saying that the original UEFA European Championship virtual advertisements have been verified, and most of the Chinese advertisements are on-site advertisements.

On the afternoon of June 16th, Hisense, one of 12 top sponsors of UEFA Cup, directly released 18 real shots of advertisements rolling on the sidelines, proving that the real shots of the advertisements are the same with the live TV broadcast.

China has become the largest sponsors of the tournament. Among the 12 top sponsors announced on UEFA's official website, Chinese companies have taken 4 seats.

Alipay, Hisense, Vivo and TikTok are among the UEFA National Team Football Official Sponsors and UEFA Euro 2020 Official Sponsors, making China one of the largest sources of sponsors for this year's football party in Europe. Other sponsors include FedEx, Booking.com, Volkswagen, Coca-Cola and Qatar Airways.

Chinese internet giant Alibaba has also signed an $800 million deal to sponsor the Olympic Games through 2028, according to media reports.

Global Times