The ex-Wimbledon player says he was given the idea by an under-12’s manager and Gazza is still frequently asked if the incident really hurt
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Vinnie Jones and Paul Gascoigne have relived the iconic moment when the former gave the term “touch-tight” a whole new meaning 30 years ago.
Wimbledon’s midfield enforcer was tasked with man-marking Newcastle United’s playmaker in the clash at Plough Lane, which ended a 0-0 draw.
But the match is famously remembered for the photograph of Gascoigne’s painful reaction to a less-than-friendly squeeze by Jones.
The ‘Crazy Gang’ member told Talksport: “I’d never done it before and I never did it again.
“It was a spur-of-the moment thing and it definitely wasn’t planned ahead of the game.
“But an old under-12s manager of mine had once told me, ‘Just grab ’em by the balls if they get too close’. And that had obviously stuck in my mind.
“So I just reached out and I was spot on. There was no fiddling about… straight on the button and I didn’t let go.
“And to be fair to the boy, he had a bit of luncheon on him.”
Gascoigne would go on to become one of the biggest stars of his generation with exceptional performances for England at the 1990 World Cup and the 1996 European Championships, but he is still remembered for that famous incident in 1988.
“People still ask me if it really hurt,” he says. “Just look at the picture. Look at my face and look at the veins in his neck as he’s grabbing my knackers.
“I’m trying to call out to the linesman but I couldn’t get my words out. I just squealed in a high-pitched voice.
“I remember in the pre-match team-talk the manager giving all his instructions to everyone and then just turning to me and saying, ‘Good luck, son’.
“I didn’t know what he meant until we got into the tunnel.
“Vinnie came up and said, ‘It’s just you and me today, fatty. I ain’t playing football — and neither are you’.
“Three minutes into the game, I asked the referee how long there was to go!
“What was embarrassing was that the ground was really small and everyone could hear what Vinnie was saying and they were laughing at me.
“At one point he goes, ‘Oi, fatty, I forgot to tell you that I take the corners. So you just wait there until I’m back’.
“I was so petrified I just said, ‘It’s OK, I’m not going anywhere’.
“It was probably the only game in my life that I was pleased when it was over.”