You have to be aggressive to achieve on the sports field, but where do you draw the line?
It's not healthy for children and teenagers to see violence on the soccer field. Nothing justifies violence - not even the desire to win. When parents get carried away with the competitive spirit, you can hardly blame children for doing the same. Children learn how to deal with success and failure by watching their parents.
Being a sportsman or sportswoman is about more than winning. It's about team spirit, hard work, commitment and courage. So what are we to think of the conviction of a father in Cambridge, Massachusetts, in the US, for the fatal beating of another father during a dispute at a hockey game in which their sons were participating?
Thomas Junta, the father of a young hockey player, was found guilty of involuntary manslaughter. Two families lost their fathers - one is dead and the other is now in prison.
Mr Junta's lawyer said, in a written statement: "Tom Junta is not the person he has been made out to be but in fact is a loving father and husband." This is no doubt true, but he also had a problem controlling his own violent impulses, obviously.
Death by violence is epidemic amongst boys and men. What better way to prevent it than to start on the sports field? Anyone involved in soccer violence should never be allowed near a match again - whether as a player or spectator.
