The Chinese authorities have re-imposed strict restrictions on the appearance of tattoos on the bodies of national football team players, as they are “a manifestation of Western decadence,” in a move that brings back to the forefront an old issue that has witnessed periods of strictness and leniency since 2018, depending on the results of the national team and the directions of the authorities.
In most countries of the world, severe defeats lead to technical criticism or changes in training staff, but the situation in China seems different, as the repercussions of negative results can extend to imposing restrictions on the personal appearance of players, within the framework of a broader policy related to social and cultural values that the authorities seek to establish.
According to the French newspaper L'Equipe, the Chinese team lost to New Zealand by three unanswered goals on September 27, before suffering a heavy defeat against Palestine by five clean goals on October 2. These results may have displeased the country's senior officials, according to Beijing-based journalist and analyst William Pei.
Pei believes that these two defeats may explain, at least in part, the return of the ban on tattoos in Chinese football, after years of easing restrictions. He explained that during the 2018-2019 season, the authorities began imposing restrictions on national team players’ tattoos, and required them to cover them during matches, but starting in 2020, players are no longer obligated to hide them permanently.
This rule witnessed continuous fluctuations over a period of about ten years, before it returned to the forefront during the Chinese team’s confrontation with Tajikistan, which ended in its loss with an unanswered goal on October 6, when a number of players were forced to wear skin-colored sleeves to hide the tattoos on their arms.
The roots of this policy are not limited to football, but rather go back to broader decisions taken by the Chinese authorities regarding media and cultural content. In January 2018, the ruling party issued directives that included the media sector, prohibiting television programs from promoting hip-hop culture, subcultures, and what the authorities described as decadent culture. The restrictions included the appearance of tattoos on television screens.
Since then, Chinese sports authorities have followed a fluctuating policy in dealing with this phenomenon, sometimes tolerating the appearance of tattoos, and at other times imposing stricter restrictions, even though tattoos are not prohibited in Chinese Football League competitions, according to William B.
This contradiction, according to observers, reflects the ongoing tension in China between the trend toward modernity and the preservation of traditional values, especially when it comes to individual freedoms and aspects associated with Western culture.
In this context, Valerie Niquet, responsible for the Asia Department at the Strategic Research Foundation, confirms that the Chinese authorities ask young people to adhere to the socialist values that the regime defends, which conflict with what they consider to be manifestations of Western decadence.
But re-imposing these restrictions may lead to adverse results, in light of what is known as the “Streisand effect,” which is a phenomenon that occurs when an attempt to hide information or prevent a certain matter from appearing leads to increased interest in it and its spread on a broader scale.
The Chinese national team is expected to play two matches against Malaysia on November 14, then Bahrain on the 17th of the same month, amid expectations that the attention of followers will turn not only to the players’ performance and match results, but also to their arms, to see the extent of their compliance with the new instructions related to concealing tattoos.
Italy hopes to put an end to its recent series of negative results at home against France, when they meet on Thursday at the San Siro Stadium in Milan in the fifth and penultimate round, to decide the top spot in Group A in the first level of the European Nations League football competition.
Italy ranks second in the group with 7 points, 3 behind France, which needs a draw to reach the quarter-finals.
Italy won 4 of the last 6 international matches it played, giving it reasons to be optimistic about the possibility of overcoming France.
The 1-1 draw in the first leg reflected Italy’s continued development after its absence from the 2026 World Cup, as it seeks to approach the final rounds for the third time in the last 4 participations (it finished third in 2020-2021 and 2022-2023), but its task will not be easy after it lost three of its last 4 home matches in the competition.
On the other hand, France is experiencing a distinguished year, and arrives in Milan with the ambition of equaling its record in terms of the number of victories in a single calendar year (13 victories).
In its last appearance, it defeated Belgium 4-1, raising its tally to 36 goals in various competitions during 2026, which is the second best goalscoring record among European teams this year behind England (39).
Zinedine Zidane hopes that his team will continue its strong offensive performances. He is seeking his fourth victory in his first 5 matches at the helm of his coaching staff.
France has won its last 3 matches away from Italy, which is more than it achieved in 14 previous matches.
Real Madrid's Spanish striker Kylian Mbappe returns to the France squad, after missing the last three matches due to an injury he suffered in the first match against Türkiye, when he scored the only winning goal.
In the same group, Türkiye - whose relegation from the first level is almost certain - begins a new era under the leadership of a new coach, when it hosts Belgium, which is seeking to maintain its fortunes.
Turkey's disastrous start in its first participation in the first level (4 defeats) led to the dismissal of its Italian coach, Vincenzo Montella, after 3 years at the helm of the team, and he was replaced by Sergen Yalcin.
As for Belgium, its mixed journey (two wins and two defeats) places it in third place (6 points), making it in danger of entering the playoffs to avoid relegation for the second time in a row.
Dutch coach Mark van Bommel's men are trying to restore balance before the upcoming summit against Italy in the final round next Sunday.
Spain to continue the full mark
Spain, the world champion and one of the two teams that secured their qualification to the quarter-finals, along with Portugal, appears to be a candidate to continue the full mark, when it visits the Czech Republic, the last without a score in the third group.
Spain seeks to maintain its lead before hosting England on Sunday in the final round, and thus continue writing history by extending its series of matches without defeat in regular time to more than 42 matches (33 wins and 9 draws). It has not suffered any loss since March 2024.
In the same group, two teams with completely different goals will meet at Wembley Stadium. England seeks to confirm its qualification, while Croatia looks with concern at its position at the bottom of the standings.
The only thing separating England from Spain at the top is the defeat that the “Three Lions” team suffered at home to “La Roja” (2-3).
The English will get a chance for revenge in the final round, but achieving victory over Türkiye remains a prerequisite for maintaining their hopes of being at the top.
The English have imposed themselves strongly in the tournament during the recent period. After losing the first round, they achieved 3 consecutive victories without conceding a single goal, including a crushing victory over Croatia 7-0.
England enters the confrontation after avoiding defeat against Croatia in its last 5 matches (4 wins and 1 draw), specifically since its defeat to the teammates of veteran Luka Modric in the semi-finals of the 2018 World Cup.
England also won the two confrontations between the two teams in 2026, scoring 11 goals compared to only two goals for Croatia.
The match will be an opportunity for Bayern Munich's German striker, Harry Kane, who won the Ballon d'Or, to write a new page in the history of his country's national team. He is expected to play his 126th international match, surpassing the previous record held by goalkeeper Peter Shilton (125 international matches).
English international star Harry Kane, who won the Ballon d'Or as the best footballer in the world this year, believes that other players in the ranks of his German club Bayern Munich can also win this prestigious award in the next few years.
In statements he made to the German weekly newspaper “Sport Bild” published on Wednesday, Kane said: “I think more Bayern players are capable of winning it.” “Michael (Olesih) has managed to be in the top 10 this year, and he is having a very strong season so far, which makes him have a real chance.”
Kane was crowned with the Ballon d'Or award, presented by the French magazine "France Football", for the first time in his career with the football club about 3 weeks ago, while Oliseh came in ninth place in the voting.
Following this achievement, the veteran striker signed a new contract with Bayern that extends until 2029.
Kane said: “I hope to win the Champions League with Bayern at least once, and to achieve one title with the England national team, within the next five years.”
Kane won the league and cup double with Bayern in Germany last season, and also contributed to the England national team finishing third in the last World Cup, which was held this summer in the United States, Mexico and Canada.
