To beard or not to beard

Seventy nine years old Ilhan Cavcav, chairman of of Turkish football club Genclerbirligi had threatened to fine any of his players who sport beards.

He says having beards made them appear more like Islamic school students or imams, rather than football players.

He had vowed to fine players with a beard 25,000 Turkish lira (RM37,703).

"Is this an imam school? You are a sportsman. You should be a model for the youth," he said in an interview with the Dogan news agency.

"I'm 80 and I shave every day," he added.

Bearded Croatian coach of Besiktas, Slaven Bilic, the club's midfielder Olcay Sahan and the Fenerbahce goalkeeper Volkan Demirel are among those who had irked him.

Cavcav who sports a moustache however, failed to convince the Turkish Football Federation to carry out a nationwide ban on beards.

The war against facial hair is nothing new. When Elvis Presley was 13, his football coach told him to cut his long hair if he still wanted to be in the team. He refused, left the team and maintained his hair and sideburns, focusing instead on guitar and singing.

And a study by researcher from the University of New South Wales, published in April this year found that women preferred men with beards, especially those with a ten day stubble than those who are clean-shaved.

The study, published in Evolution and Human Behavior, also found that men who sport full-beards are seen as a “better fathers who could protect and invest in offspring”.

And growing facial hair can also be for a good cause like Movember, an annual event where men are encouraged to grow moustaches in the month of November to raise awareness on men’s health.

The Movember Foundation has been raising funds and running events all over the world to address health issues like prostate, testicular cancer and depression.

The movement, which began is Australia, has also been listed as one of the world’s top 100 non-governmental organization by the Global Journal.

According to its rules, those participating should start with a clean shave from Nov 1 and grow a moustache for a whole month. The moustache is then used as a conversation tool to raise funds or awareness on men’s health.

Men who participate are called Mo Bros while women are called Mo Sistas. The women will do just everything the men do, except grow a moustache.

So, facial hair does not necessarily mean a negative matter Cavcav, so give the guys a break, will you.