THE SHAME GAME The other aspects to consider: Why it happens How bad is it?

Footballers have been making the headlines for all the wrong reasons in recent weeks.

Serious criminal allegations and unsavoury tales depicting a lurid off-the-field lifestyle have brought their behaviour into sharp focus.

So has the time come for our high-profile stars to be brought into line? Do they need a reality check?

We have already examined what lies behind the bad behaviour, and how it compares to other sports and other countries.

But what influence do today's stars have over the next generation of players? And do footballers have a responsibility to act as role models to the children who worship them?

What does it mean? By Tom Fordyce

Next time you walk past a kids' football match, stop for a moment and take a look at the action.

Don't be surprised if you see a child throw himself to the ground in hope of winning a penalty, or berate a referee for making a decision against his team.

The evidence, both anecdotal and statistical, seems to indicate the youngsters are hugely influenced by the behaviour of their football heroes.

And while sometimes this can be a good thing - attempting to ape David Beckham's skills - there are less savoury outcomes too.

Only 12% of the under 16-year-olds who answered a BBC Sport Academy questionnaire did not look up to footballers. 59% looked up to them a great deal.

Full results of Sport Academy poll

But more than half the respondents had been disappointed by players' behaviour.

Steve Parkhouse, who coaches an under-15 team in Hertfordshire, says there is a clear link between the behaviour of players in televised games and the way children now play the game.

How much children in BBC Sport Academy's survey look up to footballers

"We've come up against teams where kids go down after a foul like a sack of spuds, and the only place they get it from is the telly," he says.

"You see players diving, and it gets worse as they get older. But the biggest problem is swearing at referees. Kids get wound up more than they used to, and it gets worse the higher the standard they are playing at.

"There's a cheating side that is coming into the game. Some kids do stuff off the ball as well. As a manager, I don't like it. I don't want my boys to be like that. But it is creeping in.

"If the referees were stronger on televised games, kids wouldn't follow them. If the kid sees a Premiership player getting sent off, they are less likely to take on refs themselves."

There is an argument in defence of footballers which says that, while a minority misbehave, the majority are excellent role models.

And anyway, why is far less said about the influence on kids of pop stars, who perversely can be criticised for betraying their rock and roll legacy if they do not mire themselves in debauchery?

England and Arsenal star Sol Campbell says the public should be more understanding of footballers.

"We don't know if all the bad situations that have been highlighted are going to go to court," Campbell told the BBC.

"The papers are going to do their best to stoke it up, so as players we have to stay calm and make sure these situations don't happen.

"Football is in the spotlight, and Premiership players are there. You've got to conduct yourself in the right way, but everyone is human. There are going to be mistakes along the way.

"Adjusting to the money and fame, and keeping your mind fixed on football - there are a lot of situations that can happen, and young players coming into the game have to adjust to it.

It took time for me to adjust to the fame Sol Campbell

"It's a man's game and you have to learn fast - about the media, how they work and how they can catch you off guard.

"There are a lot of situations you have to adjust to as a 17-year-old coming into the game. It took time for me to adjust to the fame and people knowing me all over the world."

MP Bob Russell, the Liberal Democrat spokesman for sport, has led the calls for tougher action against players who step out of line.

"In a way, what happens in a match in front of thousands of fans and with millions watching on television is more damaging than a scuffle outside a pub at closing time," he says.

"Assault and abuse can't be tolerated on the pitch any more than they are out on the streets. Some of the behaviour we have seen recently among professional players would be considered a criminal offence off-pitch.

"It is outrageous that every week players should be allowed to take a 90 minute break from law and order. Does the law of the land not apply to football grounds?"

An interesting idea, and one that can certainly be turned on its head and applied to MPs - hardly the best behaved group in society. And unlike politicians, footballers do not make careers out of pronouncing on moral issues.

Stan Collymore, no stranger to the front pages himself, says players are no worse than any other group of people in modern Britain.

"You can't give somebody a contract at 18 or 19 and expect 100% of the players 100% of the time to act like seasoned politicians - it's just not going to happen," Collymore told the BBC.

"The players are just young men. If you put anybody else from society in that position you are going to have some who act well - Michael Owen and Alan Shearer - and you will have some that don't react that well.

"That's just a reflection of society in general. Footballers have to take responsibility, but we have to take our fair share of responsibility for these young men as well."