China national team players banned from getting tattoos, advised to remove them

Body art has become increasingly popular over the last few decades, and in China that wasn’t the exception. However, the country has been implementingmeasures to disencourage people from getting tattoos.

Recently, the country’s General Administration of Sports has determined a new policy that attachsthe national soccer team. Players who represent China have been banned from getting ink into their bodies while the ones who already have tattoos are advised to removethem.

Players with tattoos won’t be allowed to represent China neither atthesenior international stage nor atthe youth level. The administration claims this move intends to “set a good example for society.”

China bans national soccer team players from getting tattoos

The China Sports Administration released astatement that read that players in the national team “arestrictly prohibited from having new tattoos… Those who have tattoos are advised to have them removed,” it continued. “In special circumstances, the tattoos must be covered during training and competition, with the consent of the rest of the team.”

Even though now it has become strictly prohibited, the sports administration had previously warned some players to cover their tattoos when they were oninternational duty.

Defender Zhang Linpeng, for instance, has been one of them. A number of players had to play with long sleeves in order to hide the ink but now they’ll directly have to get rid of them to continue playing for their country.

From now on, any player who wants to represent China must obey this new directive in order to be eligible. In China, tattoos have often been linked to criminal activity and uncivilized people. Over the last few years, tattoo restrictions have significantly increased in the Asiancountryand now it has an impact on the national soccer squad.