Gascoigne ‘kissed a fat lass’ in train ‘assault’
Ex-england footballer accused of drunkenly pouncing on woman to give her a ‘confidence boost’
FORMER ENGLAND footballer Paul Gascoigne “kissed a fat lass” to “boost her confidence”, a court heard yesterday.
Gascoigne is accused of being drunk on a train travelling between York and Newcastle when he “cornered” his victim and took her face in his hands and kissed her. Fellow passengers described how the woman recoiled in shock forcing them to intervene.
When questioned about the incident by police, the ex-footballer told them he had “kissed a fat lass”. The 52-year-old former Newcastle, Spurs and Everton midfielder denies sexual assault.
Opening the case against him at Teesside Crown Court, William Mousley, QC, said: “This case concerns a brief but unpleasant assault with sexual overtones on a woman on train in August 2018 by a drunken male stranger in his 50s. It happened as she was making her way home from work.”
Jurors heard that, after the woman had attempted to move away from Gascoigne, he put his hands on her cheeks and kissed her “very forcibly and sloppily on the lips”. When confronted by other passengers, he told them he had tried to give her a “confidence boost”, the court heard.
Giving evidence from behind a screen, the woman, who cannot be identified, said she noticed the man, whom she did not recognise, being noisy and had food around his mouth. She spotted cans on the floor and said: “He certainly seemed drunk, intoxicated.”
She told the jury she put headphones on and tried to ignore the noise coming from Gascoigne behind her, saying: “Midway through the journey he asked me if I was a palm reader. I said no and tried to keep looking forward.”
The woman described how, later on in the journey, he attempted to sit on her lap, at which point she moved aside. She told jurors: “He kept saying sorry. I said ‘It’s fine’. I was just looking out of the window. He said sorry a second time, and then tapped my arm. I turned around to face him and he grabbed my face and kissed me full on the lips, and I was taken aback because it was just completely out of the blue.”
The woman tearfully explained that when she realised what was happening, she pushed Gascoigne off and said: “No, that’s not OK.”
Asked to describe the kiss, she said it was “sloppy” and “forceful”, saying: “It was not a peck on the cheek.”
She added: “I just completely froze.” She did not realise it was Gascoigne.
Michelle Heeley, QC, defending, put it to the alleged victim that she’d been called a “fat cow” by a male passenger.
She said: “Do you remember someone being personally abusive to you about your weight?” She replied: “I have no recollection of that at all.” A passenger told the jury that she saw Gascoigne kiss the woman, who was “very shaken”. The trial continues.
♦ The son of Harry Redknapp blamed inheriting his father’s “droopy eyes” for giving the impression he was driving under the influence of drugs, Poole magistrates’ court heard yesterday.
Mark Redknapp, 49, denied taking cocaine before he was stopped in his Mercedes in Sandbanks, Dorset, last year. He was arrested after a roadside breath test showed him to be 15 times over the drug-drive limit after testing positive for the cocaine derivative benzoylecgonine. The case was adjourned until Oct 31 when a verdict is expected.