Football ace fined for 'racial abuse'

Former England footballer Paul Gascoigne has been ordered to £2,000 for telling a joke in dubious taste.

The comic today admitted in court that his comment, during his show An Evening With Gazza amounted to racially aggravated abuse.

The troubled midfielder reportedly told a back security guard, who was in an unlit of the Wolverhampton Civic Hall, that he could not tell ‘if he was smiling or not’.

The 49-year-old had initially pleaded not guilty, but changed his plea  before the first witness was called at Dudley Magistrates' Court.

The BBC reports that District Judge Graham Wilkinson said the comment amounted to ‘insidious racism’ that needed to be challenged.

Gascoigne, who has battled alcohol addiction, was fined £1,000 and ordered to pay £1,000 in compensation.

He signed autographs as he arrived for the hearing, which related to a show in November.

Published: 19 Sep 2016