Chinese government bans national team players from displaying tattoos The controversial issue of Chinese footballers' tattoos

In recent years, and particularly in recent months, the Chinese government has regulated and imposed real aesthetic and behavioural standards on its citizens, restricting their freedom of expression, and this is why footballers such as Zhang Linpeng and Zhang Xizhe - the main 'targets' because of their media exposure - will have to 'remove' their tattoos in order to continue playing for their country's national team.

The note from the GAS (General Administration of Sports) was cruelly clear: players in the first team and the under-20 team of the Chinese national team will have to remove their tattoos to continue to play for them. The reason? According to the government, and according to China's main sporting body, football players must have the task of being a "good example" for Chinese society, respecting pre-established aesthetic standards.

Because while players in the West and South America often manage to be noticed for their healthy extravagance, firmly rooted in their expressive personalities, this means that they will never want to serve in a country where, in 2020, the women's football team of Fuzhou University lost a game by default because a female player took the field with an unruly hair colour, and who knows what they will encounter in the future, Fuzhou University's women's football team lost a game by forfeit because a female player took the field with an inappropriate hair colour, and who knows what Jackson Martinez, the former Porto and Guanghzou star, who two years ago decided to release a religious hip-hop single on Spotify, would be up against these days. 

While overseas leagues such as Major League Soccer are booming in terms of visibility, fame, infrastructure, and level of players, the Chinese Super League seems to have begun a slow regression and a sad "closure" towards Europe, dictated by the rigours of the ruling Communist Party. It is hard to imagine that a Premier League or Serie A player would want to play in such a league, and it is - unfortunately - much easier to see this situation as a great opportunity for sporting growth missed by China.