WE shed no tears for Manchester United, the Football Association and the sports retailers who have been fined by the Office of Fair Trading.

Total fines of £18.5m reflect the seriousness of the price fixing arrangements in which they were engaged.

They also reflect the huge profits being made out of the booming business.

Replica football kits are purchased by tens of thousands of households across the country.

By fixing prices at inflated levels, the guilty parties have been blatantly exploiting family markets.

We should expect better of leading sportswear chains. And we should certainly expect better of the nation's controlling body for football and the nation's biggest football club.

They will be unwise to launch an appeal against the OFT ruling. If they do so they risk alienating the ordinary supporters they ultimately rely on for success.

It is clear that since the OFT launched its investigation into price fixing three years ago that the cost of replica shirts has fallen considerably.

Today, consumers are able to shop around to find the best deal.

Surely that is proof that the fans were getting a raw deal in the past. A fair deal for football fans of all ages is not too much to ask of clubs and retailers.