Turkish football boss declares war on beards November 17, 2014 - 4:28AM Turkey's bearded goalkeeper Volkan Demirel. Photo: Attila Kisbenedek Istanbul: The chairman of Turkish football club Genclerbirligi has vowed to fine players who have beards after claiming some look like students of an Islamic school. "I'm 80 and I shave every day," Ilhan Cavcav, chairman of the Ankara-based club, said in an interview with the Dogan news agency. Is this an imam school? You are a sportsman. You should be a model for the youth. Besiktas' coach Slaven Bilic shouts out from behind his beard. Photo: Murad Sezer Genclerbirligi, which is currently ninth in the first division, will impose a 25,000 Turkish lira ($A12,000) fine on any player who takes to the pitch with a beard. Cavcav cited as "bad examples" the bearded Croatian coach of Besiktas, Slaven Bilic, and the same club's midfielder Olcay Sahan. Volkan Demirel, the national goalkeeper who plays for reigning Turkish champions Fenerbahce, is another full-bearded player who has sparked Cavcav's ire. Cavcav said he had appealed to Yildirim Demiroren, the Turkish Football Federation chairman, to bring in a nationwide ban on footballers having beards. "He told me that they could not impose such a restriction because UEFA (European football's governing body) would not let them do it," he said. I am fed up with this UEFA. I wish we had some other place to play our football.