Paul Gascoigne sectioned under Mental Health Act

[Rupstoh]

Very sad.

Get well soon Gazza :clap:

 

[ChRiStOpHe]

Very sad, but very good news. Hopefully, and I know we've all said this before, this might be the turning point where he finally gets the help he desperately needs. I read a very sad article yesterday, that was based around an interview with his sister, and sectioning him seems like the best option.

Get well soon, Gazza.

 

[worcestersauce]

Good.
In his situation he can't make the right decisions himself.

This must surely help.

 

[klinsmann66]

How Ironic.Yesterday I was watching a documentary, On some Psychiatric Docs in Rome; where Gazza earned his chips, They where using football games; as day therapy for patients....They believe that focusing on a sport, helps to suppress/realease, unnecessary stress etc...........anything that helps people that have an apparent mental disorder is always really good to hear...!!!

 

[MilkyBarYid]

Very sad, but very good news. Hopefully, and I know we've all said this before, this might be the turning point where he finally gets the help he desperately needs. I read a very sad article yesterday, that was based around an interview with his sister, and sectioning him seems like the best option.

Get well soon, Gazza.

You couldn't post the article could you?

 

[CosmicHotspur]

He went in voluntarily just a few weeks ago, but sectioning him is sensible for now as he's obviously in a very sorry state.

Such a shame.

 

[the_king]

Sad sad news, was that extra happy when we won the CC final and Keano dedicated it party to Gazza.

On footballing terms, a hero & idol.

 

[ChRiStOpHe]

You couldn't post the article could you?

Football star Paul 'Gazza' Gascoinge collapses as sister fears he'll die

Exclusive - In her first-ever interview, Gazza's sister says: "I've never seen our Paul so bad, never. Each day I fear he'll die" as star collapses

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Paul Gascoigne's sister has broken her silence to issue a desperate plea: "Please don't buy my brother another drink."

Aiming her heartfelt plea not only at Gazza's pals but also his fans, she said: "I'm begging his friends and strangers, please don't give him a drink.

"If he offers you money to get a drink, don't take it. Or you will have blood on your hands."

Anna, 42, added: "People like Paul. He is a hero and they go up to him and want to buy him a drink, which I understand.

"But what they don't know is, every person who buys him a drink, or gives him a drink or sells him one is contributing to his death. Please stop.

"Please leave him alone. You're killing my brother with kindness."

Anna, who has never spoken publicly before, also begged for Paul to be sectioned - before he kills himself.

She said she feels helpless in the battle to save her suicidal alcoholic brother and wants the authorities to intervene.

Unknown to Anna, as she spoke, Paul collapsed at a London train station. A member of the public said they saw the pitiful sight of him arguing with police and then being taken away to hospital strapped to a wheelchair.

Anna said: "I am not saying these words lightly. I want Paul to be sectioned to save his life. That is his last hope. There's nothing else left. I fear every day he'll die.

"I'm getting married in October. I want him there when I walk up the aisle. But I don't think he's going to make it if he carries on like this and doesn't get the help he so desperately needs."

Former England star Gazza, 41 - famous for his tears of grief during England's World Cup semi-final defeat in Italy in 1990 - has battled drink, drugs, bulimia and depression.

He has been in and out of rehab during the last six years.

Just seven days ago he checked himself out of a clinic and a few hours later was seen trying to buy a loaf of bread with a cheque for £10,000.

In another bizarre incident last month the divorced father-of-one tried paying a £20,000 deposit on a £140,000 Ferrari before his trousers fell down to reveal he was not wearing underpants. He staggered out into the street and returned to the showroom the next day, having dyed his hair red to match the car. Later, he changed his mind and shaved his head.

Two weeks ago he was seen stumbling around the streets of Gateshead at 8am clutching a towel and a holdall, containing a bottle of gin and a piggy bank.

It was just another bizarre episode in the chaotic and desperate life of a man who was once a national hero.

In February Gascoigne was sectioned under the Mental Health Act after allegedly threatening staff at a hotel in Newcastle and treated in hospital for cocaine abuse. He was released after a three-week stay.

Despite the best efforts of his close-knit family, he carried on drinking.

His mum Carol and dad John, 62 are divorced but the family, including his other sister Lindsay, 34, and brother Carl, 39, all live close to each other in the Dunston area of Gateshead.

They have all tried to save him. But he was readmitted to the Priory in South-West London four weeks ago after an apparent bid to kill himself at a hotel. Staff called police when he demanded a steak knife.

Eight officers had to restrain him when they found him naked in the bath, screaming: "If I can't cut my wrists, I'll drown myself."

Now Anna, a lecturer, fears her little brother has reached the end of the road after discharging himself last week - on his birthday - and heading straight back to Newcastle into a hotel.

The first Anna knew that he had quit treatment was a call from his psychiatrist. She told how he arrived at her home on the same day "in a bad way" drunk and bleeding.

"I was disappointed he had discharged himself. I wish he'd stayed in and got well. As much as it pains me to say it, the decision has to be taken out of his hands."

Anna wants her brother sectioned under the 1983 Mental Health Act for hospital treatment, for which a close relative and two medical experts have to make the recommendation.

But Anna said: "We are in a Catch-22 situation. To be sectioned you need to be assessed. But you can't assess someone when they are blind drunk and when Paul is sober he acts like a reasonable man. I've never seen him as bad as now, never.

"It has got to breaking point. But with alcoholism you can't just say 'Oh my God, I'm drinking myself to death here, I'd better stop'."

Anna is all too aware of the bleak future that awaits him if he doesn't stop drinking. Her fiance Michael's sister died of alcoholism at 33.

"I don't want our family to have to go through the same torment as Michael's. We have never before spoken about Paul - in any of the good times or bad that he's gone through.

"People need to understand our Paul doesn't drink because he likes it. And he doesn't drink because he wants to be happy or have a fun time. It's self-destructive.

"I love him so much and, as his sister, I've tried as much as I could. I've been there every day but it's not working.

"I don't know what else I can do. This is a desperate plea - I am speaking out in the hope somebody might listen and maybe things might change."

Anna has seen the shocking reality of his self-abuse. In one harrowing incident Paul stood in front of her and drank a bottle of gin.

She said: "When he can down a bottle of gin in one go it's because he's trying to get away. He's trying to kill himself. It is well documented that Paul has a catalogue of mental health problems - obsessive compulsive disorder, depression and bipolar."

Anna said Paul's downward spiral got worse in December after a hip operation.

She said: "He's active - some would say hyperactive. But when he couldn't get out after the operation, depression took hold.

"And then he started drinking. But the drink means his medication doesn't work. It's a vicious circle.

"We've tried everything. He's been in and out of hospital and in and out of voluntary rehab. But, when he's there, he doesn't like it and signs himself out.

"We take him to hospital and they go 'Well, we can't interview him while he's had a drink. We have to wait until he's sober'. Then when he's sober Paul convinces them he's fine so they let him go. He's a damn good actor and he knows the right answers."

Physically, it is all too clear how sick Gazza is. He is gaunt and dishevelled. Anna, who until recently saw him every day, has watched him slowly deteriorate. Once married to Sheryl for two years, they divorced in 1998 - and their marriage was plagued with allegations of his violence.

They have one son Regan, 11, and Gazza adopted Sheryl's two children from a previous marriage Mason, 19, and Bianca, 21. Bianca has said she has done everything in her power but she can no longer see a way to save her step-father.

It's all a far remove from his glory days when the midfield genius, capped 57 times, was much loved for his never-say-die attitude for England and his clubs.

His passion for his country was best shown when England lost the World Cup semi-final to Germany at Italy in 1990. During that game he received a booking that would have meant him missing the final - which prompted the floods of tears for which he became so well known.

Regarded as one of the most gifted players of his generation, Gazza started out at as a schoolboy at his beloved Newcastle, then moved to Spurs before switching to Italian side Lazio in 1996, where he earned £20,000 a week - £1million a year.

His salary was topped up with millions in sponsorship deals and he is said to still have money in the bank. But his family fear it won't last.

After playing for Glasgow Rangers and Everton, his career went into freefall, with ill-fated expeditions to play for Gansu Tianma Football Club in China, for Boston United and Algarve United in Portugal.

It all ended ignominiously in 2005 with his dismissal as manager of lowly Kettering Town after just 39 days amid accusations of drunkenness.

Gazza even severed ties with life-long friend Jimmy "Five Bellies" Gardner, 42, after a row about £40,000 loan he claimed Jimmy had not repaid.

He now leads an increasingly chaotic life. Anna, who has a daughter, 13, and a son, 14, said: "You can see he's not well. If he asks for food, I'll pop something in the oven for him.

"But he's like a nomad. Sometimes he'll stay with me, sometimes he goes to his flat in Newcastle. Sometimes he checks into a hotel. He just doesn't want to be on his own. When he comes to stay, we try to have as normal as life as possible."

"That's what he needs. I'll make him a cup of tea and he plays games with the kids - Connect Four and Monopoly.

"My two children love their uncle and he loves them. At night he'll get a goodnight kiss from us all." But she added: "On a bad day he just falls asleep on the sofa. I pop a pillow under his head and leave him to it."

The two have always been close. Anna clings to their childhood memories.

She said sadly: "He's a lost soul but my Paul is still there. I lived with him when he played at Tottenham and Lazio in Italy and we've both been there for each other through everything. We are more like twins than brother and sister.

"Just thinking about it now makes me cry. We grew up in a council house and we didn't have anything but we were dead happy. We didn't know we didn't have anything - we always had what we wanted for Christmas.

"We never went on holiday. But every summer we used to put on shows in the back garden. We'd put a blanket on the washing line and sell tickets to all the kids and their families in the street for two pence. Then the ice cream man would come along and we'd buy everyone ice creams.""

She said that generosity was typical of him. Anna said: "Paul has got the biggest heart of anyone I know. I've seen him stop a homeless man and give him his hotel room key and say: 'That's your room for the night'. He'd give away his last penny. But now it's his turn for help."

She still hopes she can save him. But she knows that time is running out for him.

She said: "The public has always compared Paul to George Best. They were both icons and they were loved. But I don't want Paul to go out like George.

"There's a massive conflict within Paul. But deep down inside I know he wants to live. The whole family just wants him to get better.

"We're praying for it. We all should."

'Those who buy him a drink are killing him with kindness'

'We have tried everything but it's just not working'.

 

[cwhite02]

So sad to see anyone like that. Good luck Gazza, some very hard testing times awaits you. A football legend who I hope wont end up like George Best.

 

[Destroyer]

I swear i read the last time he was sectioned that 'Newcastle United & Tottenham Hotspur' were going to offer Gazza some support for his health etc ??? Anyway, aside from that, its very sad to hear these stories again & to think of what a national hero & 'Spurs' legend he is, i cant believe how in this day & age one of Englands finest talents of the last century is in this state still. Get him the help he needs before its too late, & like his sister said "your kindness is killing him".

Where is Danny Baker & that other idiot Chris Evans now ?? You dont hear anything like this about them do you ??? They helped wreck his football career & contributed to his on going health problems. These two blokes are more to blame for Gazza's demise than anyone else.

 

[Evolution]

Very very sad news indeed...

Get well soon Gazza mate!!

 

[PT]

I fear for him.

 

[gavspur]

what a player, what a character, what a shame... Get well soon Gazza.

 

[SpurSince57]

It was pretty apparent he was several bricks short of a load when he was at Spurs. Someone (I forget who) once said he was like a little kid who only wanted to play football. Correction—he is a little kid. I don't think you need a degree in psychology to figure out that he's probably got a mental age of 11 or 12, that there's one thing in his life that he's been brilliant at, and that's gone now.

This just makes me even angrier at hangers-on, especially the 'celebrity' kind like that ginger **** Chris Evans and Danny Mockney.

 

[General Levy]

I swear i read the last time he was sectioned that 'Newcastle United & Tottenham Hotspur' were going to offer Gazza some support for his health etc ??? Anyway, aside from that, its very sad to hear these stories again & to think of what a national hero & 'Spurs' legend he is, i cant believe how in this day & age one of Englands finest talents of the last century is in this state still. Get him the help he needs before its too late, & like his sister said "your kindness is killing him".

Where is Danny Baker & that other idiot Chris Evans now ?? You dont hear anything like this about them do you ??? They helped wreck his football career & contributed to his on going health problems. These two blokes are more to blame for Gazza's demise than anyone else.

Wow you are so clueless.

 

[Bill_Oddie]

I feel terrible but I laughed at some of that article. The clutching a piggy bank and a bottle of gin running through Geordietown and his trousers falling down in a Ferrari showroom are both comedy gold.

Having said that, I can't believe the state of British mental healthcare that he was still only just recently sectioned. He's been nuts for years. Lovely guy and a beautiful footballer but crazy as a bag of spanners. Really hope this is going to do the lad some good.

 

[Mr-T]

Just seen alex ferguson effectively blaming Spurs for Gazza's problems. Saying 'if he'd have gone to man u instead of Tottenham he could have helped him' - fucking nobjockey, with his red face I reckon he sinks more than enough booze himself.

 

[Bonjour]

'e's proper bonkers, like.

 

[MattyP]

Just seen alex ferguson effectively blaming Spurs for Gazza's problems. Saying 'if he'd have gone to man u instead of Tottenham he could have helped him' - fucking nobjockey, with his red face I reckon he sinks more than enough booze himself.

Yeah I read that too. Fergie moans about Real Madrid having a lack of class, then tries to score points when all that matters is the health of one of the best footballers of his generation.

 

[shakus]

Err like Fergie stopped Bryan Robson's alcoholism, or Dwight Yorke's / Lee Sharpes / womanising?

The problem is for many of those with mental health problems its difficult to not have tunnel vision and all the love and support in the world from friends and family can not eradicate what's within. There is no simple solution for this unfortunately.