IT may have raised a titter among knowing football fans, but Paolo Di Canio's recent advert for a North-East sportswear firm earned him a red card from some viewers.

Fila UK, based in Gateshead, advertised its latest line of sports gear using West Ham United's controversial striker to demonstrate how you have to be "pushy" to get to the top.

Football fans in the know thought it might allude to Di Canio's infamous push on referee Paul Alcock, while playing for Sheffield Wednesday.

But while most were happy to laugh at the joke, three viewers demanded the advert be taken off the air on the grounds that it glorified bad behaviour on the pitch.

Yesterday, the Advertising Standards Authority rejected the complaints. It said: "Viewers would realise the advertisements refer both to the commitment a top sportsman has to have to be successful and to the referee incident."

Fila said it picked the Italian for the campaign because he was a passionate sportsman.

A spokesman for Fila said: "He is a passionate and intense individual on and off the pitch . . . Paolo clearly understands the need to push yourself to reach the utmost potential."