I AM glad to read that Sir Alex Ferguson has appealed to the management of Liverpool FC not to play Luis Suarez again, because his refusal to shake hands with Patrice Evra on Saturday at Old Trafford created a “terrible atmosphere” and could “have caused a riot”.

Actually this story is a boon to the sports industry as it creates huge interest – far more media coverage than most matches – and is described in such apocalyptic language that the prospect of Greece sliding into chaos and leaving the euro seems like a minor tiff by comparison.

Frankly, who really cares whether two overseas football millionaires want to shake hands before the match, during the match or after the match? The whole compulsory hand-shaking business is utter cobblers in the first place, and has slowly crept into the pre-match ritual to create another fake drama.

My joy at Sir Alex's capacity to see the consequences of behaviour at games in a wider social context, is tempered by his failure to upbraid thousands of United fans for their appalling abuse of Liverpool – and by Liverpool I mean the place and its inhabitants – during Saturday's match.

I was at the game, sitting in a stand full of United fans, and the scale and venom of the hatred of Liverpool astonished me.

It seemed to have nothing to do with supporting United, but everything to do with abusing Liverpool, and it was all done with a remorseless vulgarity that, to use Sir Alex's words was a disgrace – to Manchester United Football Club.