COULD you believe it when Teddy Sheringham was reported to the police following his goal celebrations at Arsenal?

The England striker kissed his shirt.

Big deal!

This was enough for some fans to claim he was inciting them.

It's a ludicrous suggestion.

Badge kissing is all the rage now for goalscorers in any team.

But like Andy Cole's golden spree it's just a passing phase.

It's a trend made all the more laughable because it is supposed to represent the individuals' love of their club.

But any fan knows in their heart of hearts that such devotion is, in most cases, an illusion.

I'm sure Mr Sheringham indulged in some shirt kissing at Spurs last season, before giving Mr Sugar the kiss-off in summer.

Players, it seems, are able to transfer their emotions along with their skills.

Fans aren't.

The Sheringham investigation was all the more preposterous because it was carried out following a game that saw two gross acts of violence from supporters.

Two players were hit by objects thrown from the crowd.

Thankfully both Nigel Winterburn and Peter Schmeichel were fit to continue.

They weren't scarred but once again our national game was.

The attacks were captured live on Sky TV and beamed to the watching millions not only in this country but across the continent.

World Cup 2006 indeed!

They underline the fact that we cannot be complacent about hooligans.

They still exist.

Many high-handed comments about police brutality following England's game in Rome last month conveniently ignored the fact that for many of our national side's overseas ambassadors a ruck with the local rozzers caps a highly successful diplomatic mission.

Some pundits would even have you believe that such behaviour had been eradicated.

So what happened at Highbury?

Did the Italian police infiltrate the Clock End to try and blacken the name of English football?

Or were Schmeichel and Winterburn attacked by passing aliens?

Well that's only as laughable as the suggestion that the incidents were triggered by a player kissing his shirt.

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