Troubled former England player Paul Gascoigne has been sectioned under the mental health laws in Britain, police said on Monday.
In the latest incident to highlight 41-year-old Gascoigne’s increasingly bizarre behaviour, he was detained in Hemel Hempstead near London after ”appearing unwell and in an agitated state”, police said.
”Officers arrived and accompanied the man to hospital so he could be checked over. He was sectioned under the Mental Health Act,” Hertfordshire police said.
Gascoigne, known by his nickname ”Gazza”, was previously sectioned — meaning he was placed in a secure unit for his own well-being — in February.
He has struggled with alcoholism and depression since retiring from the game after making 57 appearances for England. He played for clubs including Newcastle, Tottenham, Lazio in Italy and Rangers.
Considered one of the most talented players English football has ever produced, Gascoigne is best known for his exploits in the 1990 World Cup finals in Italy where he helped his country to reach the semifinals.
His sister, Anna, made a plea in a Sunday newspaper that his fans should not buy him alcohol, saying: ”You are killing him with your kindness.”
The Sunday Mirror published photographs of the gaunt Gascoigne being strapped to a stretcher outside a London rail station on Saturday. — AFP
