China has asked its professional footballers to have their tattoos removed. They now have “the formal ban on having new tattoos,” announced the sports ministry.
While the Chinese government wishes to restrict behavior deemed vulgar, Tuesday, December 29, the sports ministry banned tattoos to its national team footballers. For those who already had them, they were asked to have them removed.
“In the event of special circumstances […], tattoos should be covered during training and competitions, ”the ministry said.
China, a conservative country
For several months, China has been trying to “regain control of the youth and impose virile values” to block “moral decadence” abroad.
On the Internet, the government wants patriotic values to be privileged. In addition, the Chinese audiovisual regulator has called for establishing “correct” beauty criteria and for banning “effeminate” men and “vulgar influencers”.
Already last year, tattooed football star David Beckham was blurred in a documentary broadcast on national television.
Another time, it was a college football game that was called off after the players were forbidden to dye their hair.
