Peer pressure rules, OK?

Last week's sports pages were dominated by one story - the 50th anniversary of the Munich plane crash that killed 23 people including eight members of Manchester United's famous "Busby Babes". All week there were dire warnings that some Man City fans might abuse the minute's silence to honour the victims. Before yesterday's Manchester derby some commentators were even calling for a "lifetime ban" for any supporter caught shouting out.

In the event everything passed off smoothly and supporters of both teams respected the occasion. Nevertheless, it has to be said. A lifetime ban? For shouting during a minute's silence? Bad manners, yes. Tasteless, certainly. But why should it be considered a major offence punishable by a "lifetime ban"?

What next? Are we going to ban everyone who boos the opposition's national anthem or calls Frank Lampard a "wanker"? In a free society people have a right to be offensive, up to a point.

I say "up to a point" because there has to be a limit to our tolerance. I once had someone thrown out of a football ground for making "monkey" chants at an opposition player and I don't regret it for a second. I didn't however want the guy banned for life.

More often than not peer pressure will govern people's behaviour without the need for draconian penalties - and that's what happened yesterday.