THE ethos of sport should be all about competition and fairness.

Ruthless cheats should have no place in the arena - not simply because they break the code, but because of the bad example they set across the broader spectrum of life.

Thus, the leniency of the punishment dealt to Formula One driver Michael Schumacher is appalling.

He had deliberately rammed the car of rival Jaques Villeneuve in last month's European Grand Prix in an unscrupulous, but vain, attempt to win the world championship for himself.

It was a dangerous and dirty manoeuvre.

And it was alarmingly similar to the 1994 incident in which many people believe that Schumacher drove Damon Hill off the track and won the world championship - and got away with it. This time the sport's officials would have us believe he has not got away with it.

But it would seem to many that he has - and that sporting integrity has been sadly devalued by the craven weakness of the sport's authorities.

For what is his punishment?

The International Automobile Federation rules that Schumacher must forfeit his second place in this year's world championship.

That is a totally meaningless penalty since the season is now over anyway.

If one of us carried out such a manoeuvre on the open road we would be facing a jail sentence.

Schumacher should have been given an enduring ban, not just as a punishment fitting the offence, but also as a public demonstration that standards that spectators expect to see upheld on the track - and equated to life generally - cannot be devalued, no matter how famous the infringer.

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