Tattoo ban for China's footballers

BEIJING • Footballers playing in China's national team should remove any existing tattoos and are strictly prohibited from getting new ones to set a "good example for society", the country's sports administration body has said.

The sport has found itself in the crosshairs of the Communist Party's purity drive in recent years, and national players routinely cover their arms with long sleeves or bandages to hide their tattoos.

The General Administration of Sport of China (GAS) said in a statement on Tuesday that players in the national team "are strictly prohibited from having new tattoos".

"Those who have tattoos are advised to have them removed," the statement added.

"In special circumstances, the tattoos must be covered during training and competition, with the consent of the rest of the team."

The GAS added that the Chinese Football Association (CFA) would set out disciplinary requirements for national team players who flout the rules.

"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," it said.

It went on to say that the under-20 national teams and those even younger were "strictly prohibited" from recruiting anyone with tattoos.

But not all fans appeared to be behind the new rules on tattoos.

"Are we choosing a good football player or a saint?" blasted one angry fan on the social media platform Weibo.

"Shall we just say outright that only the Party members could play football?" asked another.

Body ink is traditionally frowned upon in China but it is increasingly popular among young adults, even as authorities make plain their disdain for it.

The CFA has ordered players in the national team to cover tattoos in recent years and packed young footballers off to military camps for drills and Marxist-style "thought education".

That has prompted complaints from fans that it is thinking more about politics than sport.

Last year, a women's university football match was called off after players were told they were not allowed to have dyed hair.

This year, Beijing has also pushed through a series of restrictions on youth culture, including sweeping measures to ban "abnormal aesthetics" and crack down on the perceived excesses of modern entertainment.

AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE, REUTERS