Alan Brazil: Jamie Carragher spitting incident was disgusting – but it was not a sackable offence

PLAYING football and driving a car have got something in common.

Both tend to make people behave like idiots.

We see it all the time on the pitch – players getting caught up in the heat of the moment and lashing out.

Anybody who drives regularly sees it on the roads too – drivers losing the plot and acting like tubes over the tiniest things.

Jamie Carragher was never prone to losing his head during his playing career.

Clearly, it’s a different story when he gets behind the wheel.

First things first. I was horrified when I saw the footage of Jamie spitting at a fellow motorist’s car following Liverpool’s defeat to Manchester United last weekend.

There is absolutely no excuse for his behaviour, regardless of what was said to spark it.

Spitting is absolutely disgusting. Full-stop.

But should the former Liverpool captain lose his punditry job because of it?

Not for me.

Every single one of us has lost our temper and made a mistake at some point in our lives.

Jamie is obviously no different.

But what sets him apart is that he made his big mistake publicly and the incident went viral online.

He has already been punished for it by Sky Sports and is suspended until the end of the season.

It’s unlikely that will affect his lifestyle and Jamie and his family won’t be going to a foodbank any time soon.

But Carragher immediately knew he was in the wrong and apologised to his victims multiple times.

Indeed, we’re now at the point where the driver of the car he spat at – the guy who filmed the video of the incident that involved his innocent daughter – is saying Jamie shouldn’t be sacked.

I think that has to be taken into account.

Frankly, the guy probably realises now that he didn’t do himself any favours by filming Jamie while driving.

He has been given pelters for putting his daughter – who was in the passenger seat – in danger, and that’s absolutely fair enough.

Jamie’s behaviour was disgusting – but the other guy’s actions were just as stupid.

Nobody ever spat on me during my playing career – and it’s just as well.

If an opponent had ever gobbed in my direction, they would have quickly found themselves with a sore face.

But I’ve never been of the opinion that spitting is worse than a leg-breaking tackle.

I hear people say that sort of thing all the time, but that’s nonsense.

Anyone who’s has ever had a serious injury will testify that they’d rather wipe off a wee bit of spit than endure months of painful rehabilitation.

Rehab is exactly what Jamie Carragher’s reputation needs right now.

The point of the process should be to ease him back to where he was before.

If an incident like this had occurred when he was a player, Jamie would have been punished severely.

He would have received a big ban from the FA, and probably a hefty fine from his club.

But it wouldn’t have cost him his career.

As far as I’m concerned, people who are calling for that now need to take a long, hard look at themselves in the mirror.

Calling for a man to lose his right to earn a living – even a rich man like Jamie – is out of order.

Typically, the people shouting the loudest had absolutely nothing to do with the incident in question.

They should be ignored.

Trust me, Jamie Carragher will never forget his moment of madness, and it will haunt him for the rest of his life.

He should, however, be forgiven for it and allowed to re-build his TV career.