An Iranian footballer has been suspended for six months after the country's authorities deemed that a photo of him wearing yellow SpongeBob SquarePants trousers was inappropriate, reported The Guardian.

A photo surfaced on social media showing the 29-year-old Sosha Makani, a goalkeeper who plays for Iranian club Persepolis, wearing lurid yellow trousers displaying the popular cartoon character SpongeBob SquarePants. A committee in charge of policing the morality of Iran’s football federation imposed the ban on the player.

“We took this decision because of his appearance and the impact it can have on the society," an official said, according to the report.