IN the eyes of football supporters, Nicky Butt is guilty of a worse offence this week than the one which saw his Newcastle team-mates, Lee Bowyer and Kieron Dyer, fight each other on the field.

As if Newcastle's 30,000 travelling fans weren't miserable enough after enduring a pathetic performance in Sunday's 4-1 FA Cup semi-final defeat to Manchester United, Butt added insult to injury by refusing to return their applause.

His manager felt the need to come out in support of his midfielder and explain how upset Butt was by the response to what many would have seen as a snub.

He couldn't have been any more upset than the supporters who set off at 3am and paid a minimum of £100 each to travel from Newcastle to Cardiff and back to see their team meekly surrender within touching distance of glory. In fact, it is a miracle those fans clapped their team off at all. After that disgraceful performance the players should have been subjected to a torrent of jeers and whistles.

But it is a fact that fans will forgive plenty. What they won't tolerate, is a lack of passion or consideration. As wrong as it was, when the fists flew between Dyer and Bowyer, the fans took heart from seeing that the team's struggles meant as much to those two players as it did to them.

Their subsequent apologies and Bowyer plea for forgiveness, saying he would die for the club, also went down well.

Those two qualities are what Butt did not display when he took the decision not to clap them back after the final whistle at the Millennium Stadium.

Butt is not alone in refusing to applaud fans. Every week many players leave the field with heads bowed, hands down by their sides, giving the impression of being deep in thought as fans clap them off in unrequited support.

Players are even less likely to acknowledge their fans when they have lost games. Yet that is when supporters are most miserable and in need of something back from their players, especially when they are a long way from home.

How much effort does it really take to clap fans? Players should be made to realise the debt they owe the supporters, whose money it is that has turned them into millionaires.

It is not often that Joey Barton can be held up as a good example, but on this point the City midfielder has his head screwed on right.

Barton is always the last off the field after giving prolonged applause to the supporters, win, lose or draw, home or away.

He says: "Growing up as a kid I always watched football whenever I could, so really I'm living the dream. I am a fan playing at the top level and when I go over and thank the fans after the game I know how much it means.

"Most of the fans go out to work all week just so they can afford to come and watch us play. They are not paid to go and watch, they pay to watch us so it is not a big effort on our part to go over and say thanks.

"That is why I do it. I am just letting them know that I appreciate their support."

It's about time players did the same.