Former Newcastle United midfielder Paul Gascoigne has made the tabloid headlines, AGAIN but on this occasion, the 51-year-old Geordie did nothing to cause this sort of uproar except to prepare to take a journey from his residence in a picturesque South Leicestershire village and drive north of the border to his final Glasgow destination.
Paul would have hardly had time to plan his route when on Friday morning news began to filter through about the decision to withdraw Paul’s nomination for the Scottish Football Hall of Fame.
The former Rangers and England maestro was due to be inducted at a Glasgow dinner a week on Sunday. However, his invite was pulled late on Thursday night, with organisers saying they were concerned about Paul’s mental health.
Hall of Fame statement: “Further to consultation with the Chair and the Scottish Football Hall of Fame committee, due to a number of factors including ongoing enquiries and concerns over the state of Paul’s health, it has been decided to withdraw the nomination of Paul Gascoigne at this time from this year’s nomination process.”
Ally McCoist, who played with Gazza at Ibrox Stadium during the mid-1990s told talkSPORT that the decision was just another embarrassment for Scottish football.
“There’s no doubt that Gascoigne has been one of the players to brighten up Scottish football over the last 30 to 40 years,” added Ally.
“It was an absolute privilege and a pleasure to play with somebody of that talent. I think we got the best of Gascoigne when he was at Rangers.
“And does he deserve his place in the Scotland Hall of Fame? You’re joking, 100 percent he does.
“But it’s just what happens in Scottish football. Not only do they make mistakes, but they just shoot themselves in the foot all the time.
“How can they release something saying Paul Gascoigne has been inducted into the Scotland Hall of Fame – great, Paul gets a boost – and then all of a sudden with nine days to go say it has been withdrawn?
“It’s an embarrassment, it’s an absolute embarrassment.”
"Does Paul Gascoigne deserve his place in the Scottish Hall of Fame? You're joking!? 100% he does!"
"This is an embarrassment."
"It was an absolutely pleasure and privilege to play with Gazza."
A brilliant tribute to and defence of Paul Gascoigne from Ally McCoist… 👏👏 pic.twitter.com/bwRIsGe1Bx
— talkSPORT Breakfast (@TSBreakfast) October 12, 2018
Vinny Jones phoned Alan Brazil’s talkSPORT breakfast show and immediately came to Paul’s defence.
👏 This was incredible…
Vinnie Jones passionately defends Paul Gascoigne after the "absolutely disgraceful" decision to withdraw Gazza's Scottish Hall of Fame nomination.
"I'm ready to give him a big cuddle. This has really hurt me and it will hurt him."
📻 Listen ↓ pic.twitter.com/vNqVUHDEl0
— talkSPORT Breakfast (@TSBreakfast) October 12, 2018
Another kick in the nuts? You bet.