Angry Turkish chairman makes having beards a fineable offence

[NewWorldRecord]

Angry Turkish chairman makes having beards a fineable offence

Tom Webber
Nov 17, 2014 17:01:32

The Genclerbirligi chief has made the hairy decision to impose financial sanctions on any player at his club who chooses not to shave his face

Chairman of Turkish club Genclerbirligi Ilhan Cavcav has declared he will fine any player who sports a beard, claiming that some footballers bear more of a similarity to trainee imams - an Islamic leadership position.

Cavcav, who can frequently be seen adopting a moustache, will issue fines of 25000 Turkish Lira - roughly €9000 - to any of the Ankara outfit's players who do not adhere to his new rule, as he believes they are failing in their duty to set a positive example for the younger generation.

"I am 80 years old, and I shave every single day," Cavcav told the Dogan news agency.

"Man, is this an imam-hatip school? You are a sportsman. You should be a model for the youth."

Cavcav was knocked back by Turkish Football Federation chairman Yildirim Demiroren in his attempts to implement a nationwide ban on facial hair, so has decided to lobby Uefa in hope of enforcing his idea on larger scale.

"He [Demiroren] told me that they could not impose such a restriction because Uefa would not let them do it," he added.

"I am fed up with this Uefa. I wish we had some other place to play our football."