The Chinese government has banned all national soccer players from getting new tattoos.
"Players who have already been tattooed are advised to remove their tattoos themselves," said a statement from the national sports authority from the beginning of the week.
The U-20 national teams are also "strictly forbidden" to nominate young talents with tattoos.
Football players should use the new rules to "set a positive example for society".
The measure received mainly cynical comments from China's internet users.
"Now I have finally found the reason why Messi is not part of the Chinese national team," writes a user on the online platform Weibo.
Another writes: "If a company does not perform well and only goes by its appearance, then it is not far from bankruptcy."
In recent months, the Chinese government has repeatedly denounced the "abnormal aesthetics" of public figures and its own youth.
Tattoos have always been the source of criticism.
For television broadcasts, tattooed body parts must always be pixelated.