COMMENT: Raheem Sterling and shisha. Of course, the finger-wagging tut-tut brigade are ridiculous.
Anyone with a bit of common sense can see through their faux morale outrage. But the problem isn't about these opportunists.
It's about Sterling, his 'entourage' and leaving both himself and Liverpool FC exposed to ridicule.
Of course the backlash, since those clips on Youtube surfaced, has been overblown. Of course its foundations are astroturf and has no links to genuine, grassroots football support. We all know that.
But Sterling, Aidy Ward and his friends should be bit more cluey when it comes to the lay of the land. Shisha pipes, nitrous oxide, it's grist to the mill for the outrage industry. And while Sterling's supporters can rightly point to his peers indulging in the same behaviour, the problem is, they're not representing a multi-million pound club nor millions of fans around the world.
By his antics making their way into the public domain, Sterling has left himself vulnerable.
Slice and dice Sterling's shisha and laughing gas videos with unflattering clips of him going to ground in a Liverpool shirt, help it go viral, and where does that leave him with the Kop?
In the traditions of 'Jon Stewart and the Daily Show', it won't take much to demean and make a mockery of the England midfielder. It just takes one of these mashups to go viral, to be picked up by the mainstream media and things can really spiral out of control. Out of context? You bet. Out of order? Of course. But who cares? Sterling's a multi-millionaire, they'd say. He deserves to be taken down a peg or two.
And with him will go Liverpool and his relationship with the Reds support.
Dumped out the FA Cup by underdogs Aston Villa, it's easy to imagine the frustration felt by Liverpool fans who had traveled to Wembley. Forking out well over a grand for the trip, many will have taken on extra shifts so they could enjoy a day out at Wembley with the kids.
Going into the game, the newspapers were full of Sterling and Jordon Ibe's antics. It was discussed on radio, on TV and was all over the LFC channels on social media.
And then Sterling and Liverpool flop on the big stage. It's no great stretch to tie things together.
That's the heart of the problem, Raheem. As harmless as you and your pals claim these things to be, it opens you up to ridicule. It chips away at your reputation and Liverpool's. And most importantly, it damages your relationship with the fans.
You're a public figure. For your sake (and Liverpool's) you need to be smarter than this:
