The ban means China is also closing the door on new players with tattoos. They no longer play in the national teams. With the tattoo ban, the Chinese sports authority wants to ‘set a good example for society’, so to speak.
“There is definitely a stigma around tattoos here,” says Roland Smid from Shanghai. Big tattoos, like a sleeve covering the whole arm associate China with crime and are seen as uncivilized. “I also have a girlfriend who is always afraid of tattooed men. It reminds her of gang members, who use the tattoos to distinguish themselves.”
under the ink
But despite that stigma, there are also plenty of Chinese who are covered in ink. Such as the Chinese star defender Zhang Linpeng. Nothing fits on his arms anymore and his hands are also covered.
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During the Asian Cup in 2019, players were already asked to keep tattoos out of sight from the public, but that was actually not something for Linpeng. So now he gets the urgent advice to laser everything away, but whether he will comply is the question. Lasering is very painful. The next international match, on January 27 against Japan, seems in any case too early for such an intervention.
Hip among young people, not at work
Roland Smid sees that especially young people in the big cities get a tattoo. “Not those big, but subtle small tattoos, for example on the ankle or the wrist. If you look around you in this hip coffee shop, it really stands out,” says Smid.
Small tattoos on the wrist or ankle have the advantage that you can easily cover them. Because a tattoo at work is almost always asking for trouble in China. “In most companies, and certainly in the government, you don’t have to have a tattoo. You almost have to keep it a secret if you want to have a good job.”
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Banned on TV
Also on Chinese television you have hardly seen tattoos for a few years now. Smid says that it is a full-time job to polish away such images. “That’s pretty unique about China, it’s one of the hardest jobs in the country. David Beckham, for example, is quite popular here, but when he comes on TV here you see that his whole body is blurred.” The fact that Beckham also has a tattoo with Chinese characters does not matter to the strict censorship service.
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It is difficult to fathom, according to Smid, why China is taking increasingly strict action. “The authorities think it’s uncivilized, but tattoos also have a long history here. It’s a gray area. If you walk here in Shanghai, you still see plenty of tattoo parlors. I don’t expect them to close their doors. It’s not going yet towards a total ban.
According to Smid, it seems more likely that the authorities want to further stigmatize the tattoo in this way. In any case, young football talents will think twice before getting new ink put on their bodies. A golden football career or a picture on the arm – the choice seems to be made quickly.
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