Once again, the football season has been marred by violence, throwing doubt over the ability of fans to simply enjoy a game of football with their families.

While the latest bout of violence occurred in a club's parking lot — and therefore theoretically outside of the Bermuda Football Association's ability to control it, there is no doubt that it will further damage the already tarnished image of football.

It also comes in spite of some efforts by Government and the BFA to reduce violence. So far, the message is not getting through.

Some years ago, when England was undergoing a much worse spate of soccer violence, the British Government put a stop to it by demanding increased policing at games, forcing clubs to install all-seater stadiums instead of the traditional terraces, and cracking down on individuals who committed violence and clubs who condoned it through their own inaction.

The result in England is that fans can take their families safely to matches and football is richer and more successful than ever.

It is time for Bermuda to devise similar standards and to make the BFA and the clubs put them in place.

It will involve expense and changes in the matches' atmospheres that will draw protests from clubs and fans.

But true fans don't get into fights in parking lots and they don't invade pitches.

Football's choice is stark. It can continue to fail to protect its true fans, watch gates dwindle and end up having to put in even more draconian measures to save the game — or it can act now.