Paul Gascoigne: Ex-Spurs player to be charged with racial abuse
- Published
The initial decision not to charge Paul Gascoigne was overturned after being challenged, the CPS said
Ex-footballer Paul Gascoigne is set to be charged with racially aggravated abuse over a comment he allegedly made during a stage show.
The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) said it initially declined to charge him following the show at Wolverhampton Civic Hall on 30 November.
That decision was later overturned after a request to review evidence.
Mr Gascoigne, 49, has been issued with a summons to appear at Wolverhampton Magistrates' Court on 17 June.
Under the Victims Right to Review, a legal decision could be challenged by a victim or complainant, a CPS, external spokesperson said.
This was implemented to charge Mr Gascoigne for a "joke" he made during the Evening with Gazza show, the spokesperson added.
The Express & Star, external reported that the complaint centred on a remark the ex-England international is said to have made about a black security guard who was in a darkened part of the stage, about whom Mr Gascoigne allegedly said he could not tell "if he was smiling or not".
The former Newcastle, Tottenham Hotspur, Rangers, Middlesbrough and Everton midfielder, who retired from football in 2004, has openly spoken about his struggles with mental health and battles with alcoholism.