Chinese women's football match is cancelled after one player's hair was deemed 'not black enough'

• College game became farcical when players found in breach of a hair dye ban
• Some Fuzhou university players hurried to buy black hair dye from a local salon
• But some players were still deemed 'ineligible' and they forfeited the game 3-0 A women's football match in China was called off because a player's hair was 'not black enough' to comply with a ban on hair dye. 

  The university match descended into farce when players from Fuzhou university had to hurry to a nearby salon to colour their hair black again. 

  Even then, one player's hair did not dry fast enough and another's was 'still not black enough' to meet the requirements, meaning Fuzhou did not have enough eligible players and the match was scrappedThe incident, which angered people on the Twitter-like Weibo, comes after the men's national team were ordered to cover up their tattoos in what was seen as another example of the shrinking space for individualism in Communist-ruled China. 

  

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  A women's football match in China was called off because a player's hair was 'not black enough' to comply with a ban on hair dye (file photo) 

  Fuzhou and their opponents from Jimei university were reportedly warned about the hair dye ban before their November 30 match, but officials spotted that players from both sides had failed to heed the warning.   

  At least one Fuzhou player was then spotted frantically having her hair dyed again in an attempt to return it to its original colour, the Beijing News said.

  The newspaper, citing a witness who gave the pseudonym Zhang Zhi, said that some Fuzhou players also ran off to a nearby hair salon to buy black hair dye.However, Fuzhou's efforts were insufficient and their opponents were awarded a 3-0 win by default, the report said.

  Fuzhou University declined to comment. However, the China News cited the university as saying that the ban on dyed hair was 'in accordance with relevant regulations' passed down from the education ministry in Beijing.

  'The relevant documents stipulate that players cannot dye their hair, have weird hairstyles or wear any accessories,' the official said, adding it was a nationwide edict that had already been in place before the match.

  

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  President Xi Jinping is a football fan (pictured here on a visit to Ireland in 2012) but the sport has found itself in the crosshairs of the Communist Party's plan for a homogenised society

  Many on Weibo were aghast at the ruling and the row was a trending topic on the social media network, racking up more than 400million views.

  'I thought I was reading North Korean news,' joked one user on Weibo. 'Am I really living in the 21st Century?' asked another.

  President Xi Jinping is a football fan and has grand plans to make China a leading country in the world's most popular sport.

  However, football has found itself in the crosshairs of the Communist Party's drive for a homogenised society.

  Players on the national football team routinely cover their arms with long sleeves or bandages to hide their tattoos.

  Body ink is traditionally frowned upon in China but it is increasingly popular among young adults, even as authorities make plain their disdain for it.

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