THERE can be little doubt that sport has a pervasive influence on society.

Sportsmen and women are some of the most high-profile, and well-paid, people on the planet - and their behaviour can have a direct effect on our behaviour.

If David Beckham has his hair cropped short, thousands of young lads head off to the barbers.

If Tim Henman were ever to win Wimbledon, tennis clubs would see a flood of applicants, eager to don their whites and head off to the courts.

It is vital, therefore, that sport's influence is a positive one.

A few months ago, the bad behaviour of a few wealthy Premiership stars was blamed by a referee for the abandonment of a Worcester under-14s football match.

This came just a couple of days after an under-16s match was scrapped for the same reason.

Now, we have basketball referees fleeing in terror as fans invade the court, angry at decisions made during the match.

We're not saying that this behaviour is a direct result of, say, an impromptu boxing match on a football pitch between two members of the same team.

But that won't have helped.

It is beholden on all those involved in sport - whether they are participants, supporters or officials - that it is played and supported with passion, but within the bounds of our society's code of conduct.

Violence has no place on the sports field - or among supporters at its edge.