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Paul Gascoigne pleads guilty to a racially aggravated offence

The former England footballer Paul Gascoigne admitted to using 'threatening or abusive words or behaviour'

Maya Oppenheim
Monday 19 September 2016 11:01 BST
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Paul Gascoigne pleads guilty to racially aggravated public order offence

Paul Gascoigne has pleaded guilty to a racially aggravated public order offence.

The former England footballer Paul Gascoigne admitted to using "threatening or abusive words or behaviour" during An Evening With Gazza show in Wolverhampton on 30 November 2015.

The 49-year-old, whose career included periods at Newcastle United, Tottenham Hotspur and Rangers, admitted the offence at Dudley Magistrates' Court ahead of a trial which was due to start there on Monday.

Gascoigne is alleged to have made a “joke” at the expense of a black security guard who was working at the gig and standing in a dark area of the stage. The footballer allegedly said he could not tell “if he was smiling or not”.

The midfielder, who lives in Dorset who lives in Dorset, retired from football in 2004 and has played for England a total of 57 times in his career.

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