IT’S not been a good week if you’re a football fan.

I suppose by now we should be used to being taken for granted, fleeced for overpriced tickets and virtually strip-searched for having the temerity to attend an away fixture.

Now we can add being found guilty of inciting players to misbehave; being massively disrespected by those allegedly acting in our interest; and cheated by blatant play-acting.

First in the dock is the FA, whose breathtaking decision to give a suspended ban and a fine of five minutes’ wages to Emmanuel Adebayor for his conduct after he scored against Arsenal was justified by an acknowledge-ment that he received “extremely provocative abuse” from the Arsenal fans.

Ah, so it was the fans’ fault he ran 80 yards to celebrate a goal and rub it in the noses of the very supporters who used to idolise him?

Now don’t get me wrong, I’m not advocating that fans should have carte blanche to say what they like to footballers or anyone else; no-one in their right mind, for instance, would find racist behaviour acceptable. But I don’t think it’s unreasonable to expect individuals earning more in a week than most of the fans do in five years to be able to show some restraint.

My blood had scarcely dipped below boiling point from this craven FA cowardice when the astonishing tale of You Tube-gate broke around the departure of Kevin Keegan from Newcastle.

Ignacio Gonzales was signed by Newcastle, we learn, as a favour to South American agents and on the basis of a few blurry clips on a file-sharing website.

I’ve sometimes sus-pected that some of our manager’s sign-ings have been made on such flimsy evid-ence, but this confir-mation of the abuse of supporters’ trust took my breath away.

How dare Mike Ashley and his poisonous cohort Dennis Wise deceive their fans in this way? The diminutive cockney then had the cheek to justify his actions by declaring that it was Ashley’s money and he could do what he wanted with it. I beg to differ but a significant chunk of that money comes from the pockets of 50,000 and more Geordies who buy your tickets and shirts. Unbelievable.

By comparison, I suppose Didier Drogba’s injury-feigning habits are a minor irritant, but what are his embarrassing tumbles and cries if not a deliberate attempt to cheat opponents, referees and fans?