One of the true characters of the game, after masterminding an FA Cup victory over Sunderland on Saturday the Bees boss recalled an exchange with a fan during a recent away match.

The supporter, believed to be balding and not a candidate for any beauty contests, was giving Allen stick about his choice of shoes for the day, among other things.

Allen simply replied: "I can change my shoes but you can't change your head."

Now maybe that would be frowned upon at Premiership level, but that is the way such instances should be handled - with a touch of humour and aimed directly at the person concerned.

Eric Cantona got it half right (I don't think the Crystal Palace fan saw the funny side of a boot in the face), but that is where Gary Neville went wrong.

I'm sure Neville has taken a lot of abuse from Liverpool fans over the years and for that reason he cannot be chastised too severely for what happened after Rio Ferdinand scored Manchester United's winner against Liverpool.

After all, some supporters spend entire matches baiting opposition players with the most repulsive of comments, yet they are the first to come over all indignant when anything comes back in their direction.

With the amount of stick some players take during a season, we should not be totally surprised that they feel like giving a bit back and occasionally give in to the temptation.

But at the same time, the FA were correct to charge Neville with improper conduct for racing across the pitch and celebrating in front of the Liverpool fans in such an aggressive manner.

If Arjen Robben's celebration of a goal at Sunderland, when he leapt the barriers to hug his own fans,was deemed worthy of a yellow card then Neville deserves some sort of punishment, even if referee Mike Riley did not see the incident at the time.

There is no doubt that Neville's actions could have incited the Liverpool fans - and not just the ones who had hurled abuse at him in the past.

And Neville, the United captain and an England international with more than 75 caps, really should have known better.

If nothing else, he should have learned from two previous incidents at Goodison Park.

Two seasons ago, Neville, Cristiano Ronaldo and Roy Keane were reported to police after celebrating a winning goal in front of Everton fans in a similarly aggressive fashion.

A year later, Neville was sent off after responding to abuse by booting the ball into the crowd in exactly the same section of the ground. He was probably more likely to hit a child than his target.

So I think a one-match ban would be appropriate on this occasion. Maybe then he'll think twice next time.

* Serbian internationals playing for Warrington Wizards? Who'd have thought it?

Next you'll be telling me that there's a Lithuanian rugby union international at Lymm.

It just goes to show that it is not just football that is a global game these days, although the biggest shock will come when King and Queen bowls team field an all-Peruvian line-up in their next match.