Football stars are not allowed to wear tattoos in China and those who have already inked their bodies have been urged to remove them.
The new rule will affect football stars that are playing in the Chinese Super League and the country’s national team. But it is not clear whether he would affect foreign players in the country’s league.
Just like in Europe, an increasing number of Chinese footballers are wearing tattoos on part of their bodies that can not be covered by jerseys.
The General Administration of Sport (GAS) in China believes that such a trend has a negative impact on the general public. Hence, the Sports’ body wants the footballers to serve as good examples to others by not wearing tattoos.
Recently, GAS urged one of the veteran football stars in China, Zhang Linpeng who is one of the football stars who has already inked his body, to remove it or cover it during training and football matches.
The Chinese defender who plays for China’s national team and Chinese Super League side Guangzhou FC still plays for both club and country with tattoos on his body.
Hence, GAS has given the Chinese football association the go-ahead to set out disciplinary requirements for national team players which would punish players who fail to comply with the no tattoos policy.
A statement from GAS read: “National teams at all levels will strictly implement the relevant requirements of the management measures… (and) fully demonstrate the positive spirit of Chinese football players and set a good example for society.
“The national team and the U23 national team athletes are strictly prohibited from having new tattoos, and those who already have tattoos are advised to remove them themselves.
“If there are special circumstances agreed by the team, (players) must cover up the tattoos during training and matches.”
The rule does not only affect senior national team players and under-23 players, all players in all age brackets in China have been banned from wearing tattoos.
Aside from the ban on wearing tattoos, GAS has directed China’s national teams to organize training for the country’s footballers to enhance the patriotic education of players.
The training is expected to “enhance the sense of mission, responsibility, and honor, and create a national team capable of conquering and fighting well and with excellent style of play”.
At the time of publishing this report, China’s national team is still struggling to qualify for the forthcoming FIFA World Cup in Qatar. The team is occupying the fifth spot in a six-team World Cup qualification group.
The first and the last time the national team made it to a FIFA World Cup was in 2002. Since then, the country has not gotten the opportunity to play in the football tournament.
