GASCOIGNE JUST FLIPPED, SAYS BEATEN SHERYL;

0 Comments | Sunday Mirror, Nov 3, 1996 | by RICKY SUTTON

Soccer thug Paul Gascoigne's battered wife Sheryl has spoken for the first time about the savage beating he gave her in a hotel.

""Paul knows why he attacked me. It wasn't over anything - he just flipped,""said blonde Sheryl at her home yesterday.

She denied reports that he pounced after she rubbished his Geordie family roots.

"I never taunted his family," she said. "Never in a million years would I do that.

"I feel disgusted and hurt by the story, but I have to keep my dignity. I'm not going to talk about drink."

Sheryl, 31, fled to her parents' home in Hertfordshire with her three children after Gazza attacked her two weeks ago.

Her five-month marriage to Gascoigne, 29, was looking very shaky last night - as Gazza's popularity hit an all-time low among fans. Opinion polls show the public is against Glenn Hoddle's decision to pick him for England's World Cup qualifying match in Georgia on Saturday.

Women's groups claim it sends "a message of support to abusers".

And angry Tory MP Teresa Gorman yesterday called for fans to boycott Gazza's matches.

Hoddle, who has been to counselling sessions with Gazza, backed his decision. "I have come to understand Paul's problems," he said. "He knows he has to change.""

FA chairman Keith Wiseman added: "We don't condone unacceptable personal behaviour. "We also have to accept that people are human."