LONDON (AFP) — Former England midfielder Paul Gascoigne has been arrested and sectioned under the Mental Health Act, police said Thursday.
Gascoigne, who played for Newcastle United, Tottenham, Rangers and Italian club Lazio, was detained after guests at a hotel in his home town of Gateshead, north-east England, became concerned for his well-being.
Northumbria Police did not deny that Gascoigne was involved, saying only: "Police attended the Hilton hotel in Gateshead yesterday evening (Wednesday) after receiving a report of concern for a 40-year-old man staying at the hotel.
"The man was detained under the Mental Health Act and no-one was injured during the course of the incident."
A spokeswoman for Hilton Hotels said Gascoigne had been at the hotel for only a day and insisted there was no trouble before police arrived.
"He had only been staying with us for one night. He checked in on Wednesday morning," she said. "The call actually came in from the police so it was not from the Hilton.
"From our end the police call came in and we were obviously happy to help but there was nothing that happened at the hotel to make us think that there was anything wrong and once the police arrived that evening, he was escorted peacefully away. It's a very sensitive situation."
Police confirned that the man detained at Hilton had already been involved in another incident at the Malmaison Hotel in Newcastle earlier on Wednesday.
A spokesman said: "Police were called to Malmaison in Newcastle at 4.24am on Wednesday February 20 after reports that a guest was behaving in a disorderly manner towards other guests. The man was spoken to by police and left the hotel."
Gascoigne -- nicknamed "Gazza" -- is famous for his tears at being yellow carded in the semi-final of the 1990 World Cup in Italy, meaning he would have missed the final had England got through to the finals.
He has a troubled history of erratic behaviour, including a public battle with alcohol.
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