Gascoigne is axed from Hall of Fame

Paul Gascoigne will not be inducted into the Scottish Football Hall of Fame, after organisers performed a U-turn on their decision to nominate the former Rangers and England midfielder.

The 51-year-old, who played for the Ibrox side between 1995 and 1998, was due to be honoured at a dinner later this month, but the decision has been reversed.

Reports yesterday morning suggested that members of the Scottish FA board were planning to boycott the ceremony if Gascoigne was inducted, citing previous instances of domestic abuse, racism and sectarianism.

Scottish football’s governing body has no say on nominations to the Hall of Fame. Inductees are chosen by a panel comprising members of the football media, and are chosen from nominations by the general public.

Gascoigne’s contribution to the Scottish game was due to be celebrated at the Scottish Football Hall of Fame Dinner on Sunday 21 October at Hampden Park.

Julie Fleeting – the Scotland women’s team’s alltime leading goalscorer – has already been confirmed as one of the new entrants, while three additional inductees will be named on the night. But

the Scottish Football Hall of Fame confirmed late on Thursday that Gascoigne’s nomination had been withdrawn, citing a “number of factors” including the former player’s health.

A statement from the organisers read: “Further to consultation with the Chair and members of 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 the time from this year’s nomination process.”

Gascoigne played 104 times for Rangers in all competitions, scoring 39 times. He helped them win a league and Scottish Cup double in season 1995-96 and a league and League Cup double the following season. He left for Middlesbrough midway through the 1997-98 campaign.

He was capped 57 times by England after beginning his career with Newcastle United. There followed big money moves to Tottenham Hotspur and Lazio, and he also played for Everton, Burnley and the Chinese club Gansu Tianma.