Gascoigne on trial

Former England footballer Paul Gascoigne planted a “sloppy”, drunken kiss on a fellow train passenger, a court heard yesterday as he went on trial charged with sexual assault. The 52-year-old ex-Newcastle United, Spurs and Lazio midfielder told police he kissed the woman to boost her confidence, Teesside Crown Court in northeast England heard. According to prosecutor William Mousley, the woman tried to move away from her seat in front of Gascoigne due to his drunken behaviour, and after he tried to sit on her, Gascoigne then ‘put his hands on her cheeks and kissed her forcibly and sloppily on the lips’, said Mousley. She called the police after getting off the train, and officers called Gascoigne that night. Gascoigne, widely regarded as one of the most talented players of his generation, told police he knew what the claim was about, saying he had ‘kissed a fat lass’, Mousley said. He denies a single charge of sexual assault.