China bans tattoos for national soccer players to set ‘good example for society’

Chinese officials have banned national soccer players from getting tattoos and ordered those with existing ones to remove or cover them up, saying they should set a “good example for society,” CNN reported.

In a new directive titled “Suggestions for strengthening the management of football players,” the government lays out the disciplinary requirements for national team members. 

According to a directive issued on Tuesday, U-20s national teams are prohibited from recruiting new players with tattoos. 

“Athletes of the national team and U-23 national team are strictly prohibited from having new tattoos,” the directive said. 

“Those who have tattoos are advised to remove tattoos by themselves. In cases of special circumstances, tattoos must be covered during training and competition after the consent of the team,” the directive added.

The new ruling also orders national teams to organize activities that “strengthen the patriotic education” of athletes 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,” according to CNN. 

This comes as Chinese officials attempted in 2018 to issue an edict that would’ve prohibited state television from featuring actors with tattoos during a crackdown on “hip hop culture, sub-culture and immoral culture,” CNN reported.