IF ANYTHING good has come out of the current grim international situation, it is that some of the vastly overpaid prima donnas who have held their organisations to ransom for far too long have been brought to book for their excesses.

It’s not a moment too soon, after all the years of never having to pay the price for the outrageous and costly blunders that are at least in part responsible for the mess we are in today.

Yes, those England players have had it coming to them for donkeys.

Ashley Cole, poor love, seems to have been cut to the quick by the inhumane actions of a Wembley crowd which had the temerity to give him its frank opinion of a less-than-sparkling pass.

It wasn’t just any old pass, either: it was a pass that allowed lowly Kazakhstan to score an unlikely goal against England.

Ashley got booed, and his international colleagues don’t like it.

Perhaps it’s only fitting that after a column in defence of swearing last week, I should now be speaking out in favour of booing, even though I’m not sure how it came to be a way of demonstrating disapproval. It’s a funny sound, when you come to think about it.

I remember being a bit embarrassed at being urged to boo at pantomime villains as a child. I think I was always rather worried that I might boo before everyone else did, thereby leaving myself open to public ridicule.

For some reason, hissing didn’t make me feel so uncomfortable – and even now I think it carries more venom.

But anyway – booing.

I’m sure the fans would have preferred being able to outline for Ashley the exact reasons why they felt so displeased at his error.

They would, no doubt, have enjoyed the chance to ask him if he had any idea how hard it was for them to find the cash to follow England; to explain to him how in effect fans’ money was helping players to live in the sort of style the punters could only hope to achieve if their numbers came up one Saturday night, and how all they expected of him in return was for him to be able to kick a ball around appropriately when his country required it of him.

Other players have been quick to rally round Ashley in his hour of need. Fellow internationals have pointed out that booing can upset a player, putting him off his game.

Some football fans have also taken issue with the booing, saying a true supporter would never boo a player, and that anyone who would do so was no more than a spectator.

I’m not sure I agree on either point.

Doesn’t a true supporter want his or her team to improve, to learn from its mistakes? And if you can’t articulate your views in detail, a swift boo is a surefire way of getting your point across.

Being on the receiving end of such treatment can’t be a party, I admit. But how you respond to it is surely a measure of your character – and character is what is often missing when talented individuals are indulged in their foibles simply because they have flair in one way or another.

When you’ve generally got widespread public adulation and you enjoy a salary that could buy out Iceland (the country, not the shop), the least you can do is be a man about your mistakes.