One winter afternoon, I joined a gathering wrapped in woolly hats and gloves, abuzz as we watched a local youth football match. Speculation was not about the players (if only), but a dad: Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta watching his son in the neighbouring game. The model of restraint, far from his reputation for intensity.
What a contrast to the “concerning behaviours” that have reportedly triggered a ban on parents from future sports fixtures for under-11s in the south-west London borough of Merton. These disruptions included preventing runners from crossing the finishing line in races and hurling abuse at children and officials, some of whom were secondary school pupils.
Such behaviour is hardly a surprise to anyone who has been on the sidelines of a junior sports match. I once saw two dads escorted from an under-fives kick-about because their fight was scaring the children.