Blog: At the time I felt like I was the only one seething at Wayne Rooney retaining his place in the England team when he was exposed as a cheat in the summer, writes Tracey O’Sullivan.

As I called for his boots to be hung out to dry, and only because I couldn’t get away with calling for Rooney to get the John Wayne Bobbit treatment, it seemed as if no-one wanted to listen.

An endless stream of ridiculously devoted football fans trotted out the usual excuses for their so-called sporting heroes: “You can’t sack someone from their job because of their private life”, “It’s got nothing to do with how if he performs on the pitch”, “Everyone makes mistakes and deserves a second chance”.

But do they? And how many chances do we want to give these footballers. That was at least the second time Wayne had been revealed as a lousy husband, only this time his status as a father took a pretty heavy bashing too. And Cheryl Cole certainly regrets giving Ashley that second chance to be the man she thought she had married.

But in many ways that is something for Coleen Rooney and Cheryl to deal with. I know that. My issue with allowing these spoilt and pampered prima donnas carry on as normal is that it does send out the wrong message and now the Mothers Union has claimed as much.

Reg Bailey, the chief executive, has said there is evidence that alleged affairs conducted by high-profile sporting stars influence children. It is feared that reports of infidelities involving England players Wayne Rooney and Ashley Cole could normalise the behaviour in the minds of young fans.

I believe it is time that we expected more from our England players. Maybe we don’t have the right to dictate what should happen to Rooney’s Manchester United place, but those who can’t keep their morals in check should be dropped from a great height when it comes to wearing the England shirt. We should want better from those proudly boasting the Three Lions.

Rooney and Co may bleat that they didn’t ask to be role models but they are and they make a pretty penny from it too. Their salaries at their respective teams for their contribution on the pitch is significant, but it is certainly boosted by their sponsorship deals which wouldn’t be worth a brass farthing if hundreds of youngsters and young sporting fans didn’t want to copy their every move.

Why can’t we say that kind of wealth and earning potential comes with responsibility because it should? Letting these footballers get away with betraying their nearest and dearest is greatly damaging to society. By making infidelity normal it allows impressionable youngsters to think that if you can kick a ball there’s no point committing to or having any sense of compassion for people, even those you should love the most. That’s because we never make these players account for their actions particularly if they are scoring goals. It is time that changed.

Our sense of community is being eroded at a rapid rate as it is. Now we are standing back and allowing the family unit to be beaten with a great big stick. Mr Bailey is currently leading a Government review. Let’s hope it makes the normal man in the street think. Because they could stop buying into Rooney mania until he starts behaving like someone that surely even he would want his son to look up to.

A footballer’s life is a privileged one, not just because they can earn lots of money, but because they can make a difference.

Wouldn’t it be something if we fielded a team of England players for the next World Cup who believed that meant something.