Where did the paranoia come from? Let’s imagine this scenario. The powers that be appear and give you a choice. You can become a famous and wealthy football player, but in return, you will have no one to trust. How many people here dare to nod their heads? And that’s Gascoigne’s situation for over 10 years.
Gascoigne sought a psychiatrist and said he was being bugged. Gascoigne thought he would receive comforting words from the person he paid to listen to his confessions. But no, the psychiatrist said Gascoigne was delusional and ordered him to undergo psychiatric evaluation.
At one point, Gascoigne changed his phone number five times within a month. Not stopping there, from 2004 to 2006, Gascoigne changed his phone number 60 times because he suspected his phone was being tapped. He even flew to Spain alone to buy a phone that was supposedly unable to be wiretapped. Gascoigne also spent up to £80,000 on surveillance equipment.
Gascoigne was terrified, afraid to talk to any relatives in his own home for fear that everything would end up in the newspapers the next day. At one point, Gascoigne suspected Bianca, his daughter from a previous marriage, had sold information to the press, leading to years of conflict between father and daughter.
All of Gascoigne’s behaviors give outsiders a clear sense that the former Tottenham player is paranoid, delusional, and has lost trust in society. But in the end, Gascoigne is not crazy; he is perhaps the most sober-minded person, realizing a sinister plot by a group of Mirror reporters.
At the time I was going through a bad time because I knew I was getting hacked, 110%. Of course (people) wouldn’t believe it – my family and Mr McKeown (therapist Johnny McKeown). “As I was speaking to him on the phone, it clicked again. He told me I was paranoid, I was going through a mental disorder. “I said ‘No, there’s f***-all wrong with me’. I knew, I knew. I put the phone down… I’ve never told a lie, nothing to lie about, nothing.
“I have waited 15 years to be sat here so I am disgusted, really.
“I feel I can’t bear the media attention anymore, and I seriously thought about jumping in front of a train. I feel like I’m being chased by journalists and paparazzi every day and I can’t take it anymore.” Gazza’s final words before leaving the room were truly haunting: “I would like to trade my mobile phone in for a coffin because these guys have ruined my life. I have no life.”
To the reality
After a lengthy legal battle, the court concluded that the Mirror Group Newspapers (MGN) had indeed wiretapped Gascoigne’s phone to produce 18 articles in the Daily Mirror, Sunday Mirror, and The People publications. Gazza became one of MGN’s targets from 2000 to 2010 – a period when the former England midfielder struggled to overcome his severe alcohol addiction. Ultimately, the amount MGN compensated Gascoigne was £188,250.
This figure became a mockery in the eyes of the public because, despite knowing the estimated value of compensation for emotional distress, it was still too meager. Even with a sum ten times, a hundred times larger, it could not buy back time, or more specifically, a human life.
Gascoigne was utterly devastated by the “vulture” media, tearing into its prey to the bone marrow. Even when hospitalized for psychiatric treatment, Gascoigne dared not speak to anyone for fear that those in front of him had been bought off.
But the regret goes beyond that of Gascoigne’s venomous words aimed at his own family. The former Spurs midfielder didn’t speak to any relatives for two years, thinking they had betrayed him. It wasn’t until he sobered up that Gascoigne realized the extent of the damage his family had suffered. “I’m deeply saddened by causing so much trouble for my family, things that cannot easily be repaired,” Gascoigne said bitterly. “My apologies now cannot turn back time and undo what I’ve said to them.”
Is Gascoigne at fault? Throughout the ups and downs of his career and life, Gascoigne’s leniency played a significant part. No snowflake is innocent, and neither is Gazza. But that doesn’t deny the fact that the British press, the British media, is the enemy of British athletes. Too many times for the sake of profit, for circulation numbers, for views, the British media has shamelessly destroyed the lives of famous individuals. The price paid is too small for crimes that can’t be any greater!