Turkish club chairman to fine any players with beards
Table of Contents
Gençlerbirliği chairman İlhan Cavcav has waged an unlikely war on players with beards, opting to issue hefty fines to any of his side sporting the facial hair.
Cavcav, who sports a moustache himself, believes that young modern footballers should be clean shaven, and he will fine players 25,000 Turkish Lira - around £7,150 - if they do not follow his demands.
"I am 80 years old, and I shave every single day," he said in an interview with Dogan News Agency.
"Man, is this an imam-hatip school? You are a sportsman. You should be a model for the youth."
He cited the examples of Beşiktaş coach Slaven Bilić, Galatasaray midfielder Selçuk İnan, and Fenerbahçe goalkeeper Volkan Demirel as particularly bad influences.
Cavcav even tried to convince the Turkish Football Federation chairman Yıldırım Demirören to adopt a nationwide beard ban for footballers, but was knocked back.
He added: "He told me that they could not impose such a restriction because the UEFA would not let them do it.
"I am fed up with this UEFA. I wish we had some other place to play our football."
Cavcav is not the first to become vocal about the outward appearance of his players. Former Real Madrid midfielder Fernando Redondo famously missed the 1998 World Cup because the then Argentina coach Daniel Passarella refused to pick him until he cut his hair shorter.
Cavcav, who sports a moustache himself, believes that young modern footballers should be clean shaven, and he will fine players 25,000 Turkish Lira - around £7,150 - if they do not follow his demands.
"I am 80 years old, and I shave every single day," he said in an interview with Dogan News Agency.
"Man, is this an imam-hatip school? You are a sportsman. You should be a model for the youth."
He cited the examples of Beşiktaş coach Slaven Bilić, Galatasaray midfielder Selçuk İnan, and Fenerbahçe goalkeeper Volkan Demirel as particularly bad influences.
Cavcav even tried to convince the Turkish Football Federation chairman Yıldırım Demirören to adopt a nationwide beard ban for footballers, but was knocked back.
He added: "He told me that they could not impose such a restriction because the UEFA would not let them do it.
"I am fed up with this UEFA. I wish we had some other place to play our football."
Cavcav is not the first to become vocal about the outward appearance of his players. Former Real Madrid midfielder Fernando Redondo famously missed the 1998 World Cup because the then Argentina coach Daniel Passarella refused to pick him until he cut his hair shorter.
For any enquiries, please contact us here.
