Crossing the Line in the Name of Supporting Your Team

We all know that football is a very serious thing in a lot of our lives; some might say it is more important than life and death.

It could easily be—and has been many time before—likened to a religion.

We visit a place of worship every week.

We have our gods and idols that we defend without question and we follow those that preach the word of our religion.

We are part of the choir that sings the songs of praise with some fanatics even choosing to give up sex over following their religion.

But unfortunately there is also the comparison that some take the religion a little too far.

Crossing the line in the name of a sport

Why is it that some supporters will happily partake in activities that involve racism, homophobia, and insults that make fun of the loss of human life in the name of football?

I love my club more than most things in my life, but I will certainly not make fun of the tragedy of the Munich Disaster simply because those human beings that died happened to play for a rival to the club I support.

I will never understand how people can attack a player who used to play for a rival team several years ago and do so with jokes about his race.

I am all for banter and having a laugh when it's football related issues.

Ronaldo or Gerrard diving is something to joke about.

Ferguson’s nose or Rafa’s goatee are certainly good bases for humour.

But to come out with comments such as "96 was not enough’’ or songs about "ice on the runway" are just so far over the line in the name of supporting your team it is embarrassing.

There will never be a solution

I understand this is a problem that will never go away and that it is just a part of life that some people are seriously messed up in the head.

Although we are all entitled to freedom of speech I just wish there was some sort of punishment we could impose on people who choose this disgusting way to support their team.

Instant bans from websites such as Bleacher would be a good start for me.