Paul Gascoigne bathed in the acclamation of Rangers fans at an event in Irvine's Magnum Leisure Centre recently. He may have enjoyed bathing too much.
It was a rip-roaring evening in Irvine, enjoyed by both ex-Rangers player and ex-loyalist paramilitary alike. One could say it was the perfect environment for a sectarian ditty.
While Gazza stood on the stage, the crowd belted out the club's matchday anthem 'Simply the Best' - sung by noted Rangers fan Tina Turner (she isn't as far as we're aware. We're not sure how this has become the club song).
At a break in the lyrics, the crowd ad-libbed some words of their own. Think the way Irish crowds tend to roar out 'Sinn Féin!' and 'IRA!' during the Fields of Athenry. The sentiment was rather different in the Irvine Magnum Leisure Centre.
There, they sang 'Fuck the Pope!' and 'Fuck the IRA!'. Tina never included these words in her own performance of the song.
And the Daily Record video appears to show Gascoigne singing those words himself.
Later, he posed with 125 VIP guests who had paid £115 to be there. For this price, they got their photograph taken with Gazza on stage before being moved along.
This elite crew of VIP's included one Johnny Adair of the UFF, a man who now lives in Scotland due to threats from his loyalist brethren.
The Daily Record shows Mad Dog and his girlfriend Lynne Benson posing for a photo with Gazza. All indicators are that Gascoigne had absolutely no clue who this was. Adair was just another anonymous supporter to him.
No doubt if he's questioned about the events of this night, Gazza will say he's always been a firm supporter of the peace process.
His agent Freda Baker pointed out to the Mail that Gascoigne is a people-pleaser and gets carried away sometimes. It is incumbent on his fans not to get him into trouble.
Gazza wound up Celtic fans in the mid-1990s when he showed himself to be a dab hand at the invisible flute during an Old Firm game.
