A minute's silence or a minute's applause? That has been the big debate over the last few days as Manchester United gear up to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the Munich air disaster.

Silence is, without a doubt, the only correct and dignified option. It is a way of showing respect and a fitting tribute to the 23 victims of that horrific night in Germany.

But fears that Manchester City fans will break the silence by shouting and chanting prompted the club's own supporters to write to Old Trafford suggesting applause might be the better option.

Well I am sorry but that would just be a cop out. The minute's applause is something invented in the recent years to allow clubs to remember people without running the risk of yobs spoiling the occasion.

When you are dealing with the death of an individual, especially a former player for example, a minute's applause has a certain amount of poignancy. You applauded them on the pitch during their career so why not celebrate their life in the same way? Fair enough.

But we are not talking about a single player here. We are talking about a tragedy which took the lives of 23 people. People with wives, children and grandchildren back home waiting for them to return from a football match.

Remembering that sort of event is no occasion for clapping. It should be somber and dignified, respectful and contemplative. I understand there is rivalry between City and United. And I understand that that rivalry is passionate and intense. But surely it can be put aside for a minute to respect the dead.

To be honest, at first I thought we might be blowing the whole thing out of proportion, looking for a problem where none existed.

But then, on Wednesday, some idiots threw paint bombs at a poster in Manchester that had been erected to commemorate the occasion.

If they are capable of that simple yet disrespectful act, then I would imagine making their voices heard at Old Trafford when the rest of the 70,000-plus crowd is completely silent is not beyond their levels of idiocy.

And it's not only the Manchester derby that could be affected by these mentally challenged moppets - FA chief executive Brian Barwick has insisted that Wednesday's international match at Wembley should also be preceded by a minute's silence as it falls on the exact date of the anniversary.

That game has even more potential for problems in terms of keeping the silence as you could potentially have fans from 91 different clubs intent on causing disruption.

But both the FA and Manchester United are right for insisting these minutes of respect go ahead as planned. Just like it is wrong for society as a whole to bow to terrorists, it is wrong for football to bow to hooligans.

Anybody breaking the silence at either of these two games should be named and shamed. There are literally thousands of cameras at football matches these days. Most people have mobile cameras, then there are the press photographers, the CCTV cameras and the television cameras.

At the first hint of a yell or chant every single one of those cameras should be turned on the culprit or culprits. Then images of these brain dead thugs should be broadcast around the world, published in newspapers and uploaded to sports websites everywhere.

And, to top it off, they should be banned from all football grounds for life. I don't care how harsh that seems, these people have no place in football.

In fact they have no place in society.

No 100 for rusty-balls

David Beckham's dream of winning his 100th international cap lies in tatters and there is only one man to blame for that - himself.

Beckham was excluded from Fabio Capello's first England squad for this Wednesday's match against Switzerland and that could very well be that for him on the world stage.

Personally I have no doubt that were Beckham still playing in a major European league against top quality opposition week-in, week-out, then today he would be looking forward to reaching his ton at Wembley.

Instead he will have to spend the night at home watching the match on TV and flicking through his bank statements to remind himself why he put cash before career when he moved to America.

There is still a chance, of course, that Beckham may get called up later in the year when he is actually playing football - right now it is the close season across the pond and he is anything but match fit.

But if his phone does ring sometime in the future, and Fabio does offer him another chance to wear the three lions, it will be little more than a sympathy cap.

I can't see Capello basing his team around a player who is now in his 30s and playing the equivalent of pub football.

There are too many good youngsters who are capable of playing wide right like Aaron Lennon, David Bentley, Shaun Wright Philips and Joe Cole. The oldest of those is eight years Beckham's junior. I may be wrong. The omission may be purely on the basis of match fitness and Fabio may have big plans for golden balls.

But I doubt it. Very much.

The fans fight back

This week it was announced that a group of ambitious Liverpool fans are planning a buy-out of the club in a Barcelona-style membership scheme.

And I think it is an absolutely magnificent idea.

Under the cooperative scheme they aim to sell shares to 100,000 fans across the globe, raising £500 million in the process. Enough to buy the club from the mad Americans who currently own it and build the new stadium too.

The Share Liverpool FC Group reckons this is the best way to give supporters a real say in how their club is run.

"The time is right to offer a different solution to the rising concerns that football fans have about the patterns of ownership developing at our major football clubs," group spokesman Rogan Taylor said.

How right he is.

I, for one, am sick of England's top clubs being used as playthings by multi-millionaires looking for a new toy to alleviate their boredom. Or, worse still, looking for a cash cow to boost their bank accounts.

If this plan gets off the ground I think it could well be the best way forward for not only the Premier League but European football as a whole.

After all, it is the fans that buy the tickets, it's the fans that buy the pies, programmes, shirts and scarves. It's the fans that attract the sponsors and the advertisers. It is the fans that are the lifeblood of each and every football club on the planet.

So why shouldn't they own that which they keep alive?

It will be a long time before the buy-out really gets off the ground and there is every chance it will fail as initial estimates suggest fans will need to pay around £5,000 each for their membership.

But, if the FA, FIFA, UEFA and the Premier League are genuine when they talk about the importance of supporters, they should all do their utmost to make sure this plan works and to promote similar schemes.

Then maybe we will see the back of people like Hicks, Gillett, Abramovich and the Glazers and a new dawn for football where clubs are controlled by people who really care about them.

Joke of the week

So, an old lady carrying bags of shopping is getting on a bus in Newcastle city centre.

"Can you manage, love?" the considerate driver asks.

"Why, has Keegan quit already?" comes the reply.

Brilliant.

sportscolumnist@timesofmalta.com