Actually he was convicted in 1984 for drink-driving and assaulting apolice officer, so, no it isn't libelous. (Also from the BBC). But yes you are right that I should have put him in with the 40,000+ deaths that are related to drinking, rather than directly attributable. And anyway, the point of my post is less about George Best, and more about the utter foolishness of attributing near sainthood, on someone not deserving of it. Unless of course your criteria for sainthood is tied to how well they kick a football about. And, if alcoholism is an illness... ...maybe a topic for another post.