David Beckham’s absence from the Olympic football squad has got the Twitter luvvies in a right tizz.

Such sporting luminaries as James Corden and Gordon Ramsey jumped straight on to voice their 140-character outrage.

All his celebrity mates followed, voicing disbelief that good old Becks had been stabbed in the back.

From a publicity point of view, Stuart Pearce has scored a spectacular own goal to snub the icon of the British bid for the Games.

From a football point of view, he’s got it bang on. Beckham is not the player of Manchester United or even Real Madrid days; THAT free-kick against Greece was 11 years ago … If you are picking a team to win gold – and if not, what’s the point of entering – then places should be earned on form not reputation.

Should Pearce survive the inevitable Bring Back Becks backlash from the tabloids, he has given Britain a better chance of winning the tournament.

The only pity is that a lot less will bother to turn up and watch now.