No beards and no tattoos! Berlusconi lays out bizarre rules at Serie C side Monza

The former owner of AC Milan is taking on a new challenge in the third tier of Italian football and has already put some bemusing policies in place

Silvio Berlusconi’s reign at Monza appears set to be as colourful as his time at AC Milan, with the former Italian prime minister having banned beards and tattoos at his new club.

Having parted with the Rossonerri after 31 years of ownership in April 2017, the enigmatic media tycoon and politician has returned to football in the Italian third tier.

He has already been linked with ambitious moves for former players, such as ex-Milan star Kaka, and is wasting little time in making his mark in new surroundings.

Life is rarely dull where Berlusconi is concerned, and the 82-year-old has moved to outline his vision for Monza.

He told reporters at the ‘Idee per l’Italia a Milano’ event: “It will be a young team made up entirely of Italian players.

“They’ll have their hair in order, we’ve already found a hairdresser in Monza who said they would cut their hair for free.

“No beards, no tattoos, and they won’t be able to proudly wear loads of earrings.

“They will be an example of fairness on the pitch, they’ll apologise to their opponents in the case of a foul, they’ll treat the referee like a gentleman.

“If they are asked for an autograph they’ll write their name and surname out well, no scrawling, and they’ll always go out dressed soberly and fashionably.

“I want something different to modern football.”

Monza are currently sat third in their geographical division of Serie C, with nine points taken from four games.