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[Football] Paul Gascoigne kissing trial



blue-shifted

Banned
Feb 20, 2004
7,645
a galaxy far far away
What do you think?

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-50056416

I always find myself sticking up for the bloke (and I know about all the things he’s done). I can’t explain why I always stick up for him, I just do

“I know what this is about, I kissed a fat lass” A proper Gazza quote that
 






Mellotron

I've asked for soup
Jul 2, 2008
31,841
Brighton
The thread title makes it sound like a new Channel Five game show, probably hosted by either Melanie Sykes or Paul O'Grady.
 


The_Viper

Well-known member
Oct 10, 2010
4,345
Charlotte, NC
I think he's a drunken rapist.

Kissing someone who doesn't want to be kissed is a horrible thing to do, and people should absolutely be punished. However branding someone a rapist with zero evidence is very risky. [MENTION=6886]Bozza[/MENTION] might want to remove this one with the whole slander/libel stuff I know he's worried about on here.
 






















Poojah

Well-known member
Nov 19, 2010
1,881
Leeds
Gazza was probably my first childhood idol, and one of the reasons I became so transfixed with football in the first place. I loved Paul Gascoigne the footballer and Gazza the character. There are some stories in his autobiography that are absolutely hilarious.

However, the man is now very clearly an absolute train wreck; ill both mentally and physically. Many of us will have done things whilst drunk - albeit not necessarily sexually assaulting anyone in the process (even if this is towards the lesser end of offences under that banner). When you spend 90% of your waking existence absolutely shítfaced, coupled with mental illness, misdemeanours are inevitable.

Can I defend him? No. Do I feel sorry for him? A little - his issues are incredibly deep rooted and to an extent society stitched him up like a kipper. But my sympathy is wearing thin. If he hadn’t been such a great entertainer earlier in his life then I don’t think anyone would consider him anything other than a nasty, unsavoury character.
 


symyjym

Banned
Nov 2, 2009
13,138
Brighton / Hove actually
I agree with the Viper, above.

The article calls him friendly and tactile... we have to learn though that you cannot get away with being touchy-feely in this day a nd age, whatever our motives may be.

Especially with the excuse of wanting to make her feel better about herself. He was sober enough to recollect the situation and stupid enough to make up what he thought would be reasonable mitigating circumstances.
 








blue-shifted

Banned
Feb 20, 2004
7,645
a galaxy far far away
He's done some things which are properly out of order. Hitting his wife, of course is hard to come back from

To me he's someone who was nowhere near mentally equipped for the stardom, the scrutiny, the crushing disappointments of his early playing career and then the loss of his ability. After that the alcoholism and the mental illnesses which it exacerbated took over and led him to his darkest deeds.

If you watch some of his early interviews and even around the time he was doing the Saturday morning Italian TV shows with James Richardson he comes across as a bloody decent bloke. Fun loving, authentic, generous, passionate about his football, his country. No media training or savvy whatsoever. The sort of man and the sort of footballer that could unite a nation behind him.

I know he's blown about 20 last chances, but I still find myself wishing him well in life. I believe him in this case ... having seen what he's like in his goldfish bowl public life, it seems a bit more likely to me that he's done some stupidly misguided attempt to make someone feel better about themselves than he's a pervert. Ah well, we'll see anyway
 










blue-shifted

Banned
Feb 20, 2004
7,645
a galaxy far far away
Gazza was probably my first childhood idol, and one of the reasons I became so transfixed with football in the first place. I loved Paul Gascoigne the footballer and Gazza the character. There are some stories in his autobiography that are absolutely hilarious.

However, the man is now very clearly an absolute train wreck; ill both mentally and physically. Many of us will have done things whilst drunk - albeit not necessarily sexually assaulting anyone in the process (even if this is towards the lesser end of offences under that banner). When you spend 90% of your waking existence absolutely shítfaced, coupled with mental illness, misdemeanours are inevitable.

Can I defend him? No. Do I feel sorry for him? A little - his issues are incredibly deep rooted and to an extent society stitched him up like a kipper. But my sympathy is wearing thin. If he hadn’t been such a great entertainer earlier in his life then I don’t think anyone would consider him anything other than a nasty, unsavoury character.

True mate, but probably it's his incredible talent which has led to the pressure and led to the alcoholism which has led to the mental illnesses and the problems he's got himself into etc. There's no way of telling, but there's every chance that if he'd never kicked a ball, he'd be leading a perfectly normal, happy life
 


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