FORMER England footballer Paul Gascoigne has been fined £1,000 for making a racist comment to a black security guard at a public event.
Dudley Magistrates' Court was told Gascoigne humiliated Errol Rowe, who had been assigned to protect him during his An Evening with Gazza show, by asking him: "Can you smile please, because I can't see you?"
Ordering Gascoigne to pay Mr Rowe £1,000 in compensation, District Judge Graham Wilkinson told the retired star: "You sought to get a laugh from an audience of over 1,000 people because of the colour of Mr Rowe's skin."