GAZZA BOYCOTT
Members of SFA board to snub Rangers icon’s induction
MEMBERS of the SFA board are ready to boycott a dinner inducting Paul Gascoigne into the Scottish Football Hall of Fame later this month. Nominated by members of the public, Rangers legend Gascoigne (below) has been chosen by a panel from the world of football and media to be honoured alongside Scotland women’s international Julie Fleeting at a Hampden dinner on Sunday, October 21. Concerned by troubled Gascoigne’s associations with incidents of domestic abuse, racist language and sectarianism, however, Sportsmail understands some members of the SFA board will turn down their annual invitation to attend the dinner. The SFA have no direct influence over nominations
or entrants to the Scottish Football Hall of Fame and are powerless to prevent Gascoigne’s induction. With the issue having been raised at boardroom level, however, some members of the SFA hierarchy believe they can’t be seen to endorse the nomination of the former England international following a string of damaging high-profile headlines in recent years. Gascoigne, who won 57 caps for England, joined Rangers from Lazio in the summer of 1995 and won both Scottish Player of the Year awards in his first season before scoring against Scotland at the Euro 96 finals. During his time at Ibrox, however, the midfielder incurred condemnation from women’s groups following an assault on former wife Sheryl at Gleneagles Hotel in 1996. Battling an addiction to alcohol and mental health problems, he was also fined £1,000 in September 2016 for racially aggravated abuse of a black security guard at an ‘Evening with Gazza’ event in Wolverhampton. In August, Gascoigne was questioned by British Transport Police over allegations of inappropriately touching a woman on a train. And last month internet footage emerged appearing to show the 51-year-old singing along to a sectarian song at a supporters’ event in Alloa. The Scottish Football Hall of Fame is displayed within the Scottish Football Museum at Hampden. Distinct from the SFA Hall of Fame — which grants entry to Scotland internationals who reach 50 caps — nominations are open to ex-pros ‘who have made a significant contribution’ to the national game. Gascoigne will join other non-Scots including Henrik Larsson, Brian Laudrup and Terry Butcher in being honoured by a nominations committee. A spokesman for the Hall of Fame last night declined to comment.