seems the players themselves remain hell bent on destroying their efforts.

Incidents in two games over the weekend in which six players were sent off, several more booked and one taken to hospital after being brutally kicked in the head, might not be the match-day norm. But, make no mistake, they are reflective of a pattern all too prevalent this season, and now seemingly bordering on the epidemic.

Little wonder fans are staying away in droves and would-be referees and linesmen are politely declining desperate appeals to lend a hand.

If the BFA are still at a loss to explain the no more than mediocre attendance at recent internationals against Antigua and Denmark, they need look no further than the indiscipline exhibited by a growing band of petulant, loud-mouthed players whose propensity for foul language and dirty play far outweighs any skill they might show on the ball.

Without doubt, had some of this past weekend's incidents occurred not on the football field but in a public place outside the ground, their punishment might have been far more severe than a red card and subsequent suspension.

One wonders what might have happened had either Stuart Crockwell, Tony Mouchette or Lyndon Raynor, all of them police officers as well as senior referees, been in charge at BAA Field. Would such frenzied violence have become a police matter? It remains one of the sport's great mysteries why players seem to feel they can vent their anger on the football field with far greater doses of violence than would ever be tolerated elsewhere.

Yet flying fists, head-butts and well aimed kicks to anything but the ball have become common sights this season.

Referee Leroy Wilson described the fracas at BAA on Sunday, where Vasco player Dwight Basden was first punched several times by Devonshire Cougars defender Wendell Swan and then set upon by his brother Ryan Swan who ran some 20 yards before kicking Basden in the head, as "the worst incident I have seen'' in ten years of officiating.

Our own senior reporter Jonathan Kent was standing just yards from where the melee unfolded.

Jonathan has, over the past decade, reported on soccer at all levels, from amateur Sunday League to the English Premier Division. He, too, could never recall witnessing such a violent outburst.

Another of our senior reporters, Lawrence Trott, watched as three players were dismissed, one of them having to be restrained by team members, in a match where again indiscipline overshadowed all other aspects of what should have been a hard but fair contest between long-time rivals Wolves and Hamilton Parish.

These latest chapters in the book of foul play follow another not too long ago when a game between Vasco and Southampton Rangers at BAA had to be abandoned after bottles were hurled onto the pitch -- a bad-tempered match in which Rangers' national team player Janeiro Tucker was sent off.

The BFA have yet to announce any disciplinary action.

But while we believe the governing body should sometimes act more swiftly and firmly in cases of this nature, they shouldn't be left shouldering the blame for this season's continuing trend of brutality.

Thanks to BFA officials such as Neville Tyrrell, David Sabir, Clyde Best and Jon Beard, and some generous corporate sponsors, much has been done to turn the sport around in the wake of the now notorious Miami Seven episode.

But their combined efforts are worth absolutely nothing if the players, coaches and club officials don't abide by the rules of the game.

If Devonshire Cougars, for instance, are serious about Bermuda's footballing welfare they would, without hesitation, banish from their ranks both Wendell and Ryan Swan before the BFA have chance to mete out their own punishment.

The sport can do without both of them, at least until they realise that such hideous actions as theirs have no place in a family game.

Others who have been red carded should also be dealt with internally with clubs making it crystal clear that their continued membership hinges on future good behaviour.

The BFA can only act after the damage is done.

It's up to the clubs, from the president down to the coach, to ensure that the game is played in the right spirit.

If they can't offer such assurances, we may as well disband the entire programme.

The whole soccer family, from the fans, officials, coaches, administrators down to those players who actually respect the rules, are fast being turned off by this continued Sunday afternoon thuggery.