Sorry Paul Gascoigne, you might be ‘not guilty’ but your behaviour is still appalling

Gascoigne’s lawyer said that his client kissed a woman who ‘didn’t like it’, but that didn’t make him a sex offender. It’s hardly a victory

Former England footballer Paul Gascoigne has been found not guilty on charges of sexual assault, after kissing a woman he encountered on a train last August. His defence that he “gave a peck on the lips to boost her confidence” after she had been called “a fat lass” by other passengers might have played well with the jury, but it raises questions about what constitutes acceptable behaviour on public transport.

The woman concerned said that Gascoigne had tried to sit on her lap, grabbed her face and kissed her full on the lips, “completely out of the blue”. Gascoigne’s lawyer said that his client might have kissed a woman who “didn’t like it”, but that didn’t make him a sex offender.