It sounds like a useful phrase for someone who has been obliged to say sorry but doesn’t really believe they should have had to. Someone like Wayne Rooney perhaps.

The England football captain's unwise but basically good-natured actions in the team hotel near Watford on Saturday night (and Sunday morning) opened him up to a classic blustering on The Sun’s front page this week for "gatecrashing" a wedding reception while being pretty obviously drunk.

But The Sun itself quotes a witness who said Rooney had been drinking in the bar "with members of the FA", and, at midnight, "was asked if he would come and say hello to guests at a private wedding party".

A more prudent footballer - Gareth Southgate, perhaps - would have politely turned that request down. A more prudent footballer would not have had so much to drink. But Rooney didn’t gatecrash anything.  And he was nicely hamstrung - even though he was carrying a slight knee injury ahead of a friendly against Spain that he was never down to play in - by the person or persons who passed images on to the papers. All in the interests of society, and youngsters therein who so badly need role models, I am sure.

Rooney looking a bit the worse for wear!! Rooney sitting self-consciously on the end of a sofa alongside two excited female wedding guests!! Personally I can only say I was shocked, sickened and surprised. Not.

The Manchester United man’s official statement ticks all the boxes.

"Naturally Wayne is sorry that pictures taken with fans have been published," the statement from Rooney's management read. (Well of course he is. Sick as a pig he’s been stitched up.)

"Although it was a day off for the whole squad and staff, he fully recognises that the images are inappropriate for someone in his position.

(Inappropriate. Dread buzzword.)

"Earlier today Wayne spoke privately to both Gareth Southgate and [Football Association technical director] Dan Ashworth to unreservedly apologise.

"He would like to further extend that apology to any young fans who have seen these pictures."

Surely that will do won’t it? Or does he need to extend that apology to old fans too in case he is accused of being ageist? And while he’s about it, does he need to make it clear that he is also apologising "unreservedly" to those young fans, and indeed old fans, rather than just apologising in a normal manner? Because we all know that, sometimes, saying "sorry" just isn’t enough.

Would some kind of community service be in order here, I wonder?

Ominously, the FA has issued a statement saying "England personnel have a responsibility to behave appropriately at all times".

The governing body added: "We will be reviewing our policy around free time while on international duty."

Question One. Assuming the reports are correct that Rooney was drinking with members of the FA on the night after the 3-0 win over Scotland, does that same responsibility of behaving well at all times apply equally to them?

This appears to be an issue which is exercising the Manchester United manager Jose Mourinho at the moment. If reports are to be believed.

Question Two: What, one wonders, will be the result of the policy review "around free time" - or even about free time?

Perhaps the FA will direct the players down the old Don Revie route by organising obligatory carpet bowls and bingo sessions as the former Leeds United manager did during his time as England boss? (On second thoughts, though this worked for Leeds, the England players hated it.)

Or maybe the players will have to troop off together to the nearest cinema for team bonding in the manner of Alf Ramsey’s England men? After all, that worked a treat in Hendon on the night before the 1966 World Cup final.

(Note - it would be best in such a case for the FA to have a clear line on the choice of film. For instance, if everybody had been piling off on Saturday night to the nearby Woodside Leisure Park cinema, a firm decision would have to have been made on whether to go for Dr Strange or A Street Cat Named Bob. Ramsey was very clear that all his players would watch Those Magnificent Men in Their Flying Machines.)

BBC Radio Five Live discussed this vital issue at some length on Wednesday evening, and received a call from the man who has just been reappointed as manager of Queen’s Park Rangers, Ian Holloway.

Holloway was as honest a player as you will ever see; that is his nature. His comment on the Great Rooney Debate was characteristically frank: "We all like a drink," he said. He went on very earnestly to question the extent to which people in the public eye now have to forego any right to privacy, citing the death of Princess Diana 20 years ago in a car that had been attempting to evade a swarm of paparazzi on motorbikes.

Realistically, tabloid newspapers are not going to turn down pictures of footballers, politicians, rock stars behaving badly - or even just unwisely. But maybe we all need to curb our tendency for synthetic moral outrage. Wayne Rooney had a drink. Not ideal - but so what? Let’s save our opprobrium for something commensurate. God knows there’s enough choice right now.