DAFTY COCKNEY

THE Chapecoense tragedy truly was heartbreaking, but the way the football family – this dysfunctional football family we are all part of – has reacted has been admirable.

I don’t think there’s another sport which could be so appropriate in the way it celebrates life.

I never saw any of the Busby Babes play, but they have all been part of my football life and I’m sure many of you can say the same.

The memories of men such as Duncan Edwards lived on and it will be the same for the guys who perished in the mountains of Medellin.

We are all going to die some day and, yes, the Chapecoense players, their management staff and the journalists and flight staff they were sharing a plane with have all gone too soon.

But the consolation, however slight, is that, like the Manchester United men who died in Munich, they will for ever be remembered as heroes. WE’VE all made mistakes – me royally on several occasions – but I’m not an MBE, I’m not standing for Parliament, I’m Joe Bloggs.

Eric Bristow (left) is an MBE and his comments on the abuse scandal in football were outrageously homophobic.

So, he has lost a gig on Sky Sports for them... well, whoopee-do.

If that’s the worst sanction he gets, then it’s proof of what the system really is.