It’s about time football sorted out its carbon footprint – RICK JACKSON

I mean, how much energy does a football stadium consume, especially during a floodlit match? Then there’s the heating bill. I remember seeing huge gas burners heating the roof of a stand at Chelsea’s Stamford Bridge.

The biggest concern must be the amount of travelling involved in football. Twice a week, thousands upon thousands drive across the country to follow their teams, come rain or shine. Many a Pompey fan has been to Carlisle.

This is happening not just in England, but all over the world. It’s even worse for European ties where fans and players are flying to these games.

Teams have private jets to take them to their next clash and thousands follow on chartered and scheduled flights.

The biggest farces of all are the European cup finals themselves and this is highlighted by the finals of the Champions League and the worst culprit, the Europa League.

It’s about 200 miles from Liverpool to Tottenham’s stadium in London. It’s 1,300 miles to Madrid. Then again, who knew two English teams would make the final?

There is no excuse for the Europa League final, which is being held in Baku, the capital of Azerbaijan.

Arsenal and Chelsea football clubs are separated by just 10 miles. Fans of these two face a round trip of more than 5,500 miles to watch the game. Who in their right mind thought this was a good idea? The carbon footprint this game will leave on the planet is quite phenomenal.

Football is the most wonderful sport and it’s a fantastic experience to follow your side away from home, but surely the sport’s governing bodies need to look at how it can improve its environmental track record.

You’ll see what I mean during the 2022 World Cup, controversially awarded to Qatar, where summer temperatures are in the 40s.

How good for the environment is playing football in a stadium with more than 80,000 people, floodlit and kept cool with industrial air conditioners?

Come dine with me… just inches above the water

Concerned listeners called Tuesday’s breakfast show worried that a cruise ship had run aground off Lee-on-the-Solent.

Thankfully, the new Celebrity Edge was testing the latest gimmick to bless a cruise ship. She is fitted with a giant gantry off the side of the ship, the kind of thing you see window cleaners use on skyscrapers. You board it on the top deck and it lowers to the water’s edge where you can dine the night away.

Other gimmicks on cruise ships include a giant cherry picker and pod that extends over the side of the ship. Others have zipwires, dodgems and ice rinks. For me, as long as the Kids’ Club is open and so are the bars, I’ll be happy enough, even off Lee-on-the-Solent.

Baker tweet was stupid but he didn’t deserve the sack

I have a great deal of sympathy for Danny Baker, who lost his job and his credibility last week after a joke post on Twitter went horribly wrong.

Posting a vintage photo of a couple and a chimpanzee dressed in a suit outside a hospital, linking it to the royal baby being photographed with his parents was tasteless and stupid. He admitted this and removed the post when others made him realise his mistake.

I have no doubt Danny is not a racist and didn’t mean to offend. He was playing the Twitter game of regular amusing postings to boost his number of followers. A severe wrap on the knuckles for being stupid and naive, yes. But to lose his job at the BBC?