Andy Carroll says he was sexually assaulted as ex-England star relives ‘traumatic’ assault
Former Liverpool and England striker Andy Carroll has opened up about how he was sexually assaulted in a “traumatic” attack.
Carroll, 37, who now plays for National League South side Dagenham and Redbridge, revealed he “can’t forget” the harrowing ordeal, in his new book ‘Owning It’. In the book, the ex-Newcastle United and West Ham forward said he debated with his girlfriend, Lou Teasdale, if he should speak about the attack.
And, after “avoiding his publisher for so long”, Carroll said he decided “at the last minute” to waive his anonymity and write about the attack in the hopes it might help others. In the book, the former England international said: “Other things I’d quite like to forget but can’t…
Former England striker Andy Carroll relived the traumatic ordeal(Image: The FA via Getty Images)
JOIN US ON FB! Get all the best sports news and much more on our Facebook page
“Something happened to me a few years ago that was so traumatic I only decided to include it in this book at the very last minute. I was sexually assaulted, there I said it. Scary to even think about and only a few people knew about it before now.
“Me and Lou spent a lot of time discussing whether to mention it in this book or not. I avoided my publisher for so long that they probably suspected I got cold feet.
“Scary to talk about but it’s made the person I am today as much as any of the good stuff. And if me talking about it helps just one person then good it will have been worth it.”
Andy Carroll has played for Liverpool, Newcastle and West Ham in the Premier League(Image: Clive Brunskill/Getty Images)
Carroll says the perpetrator of the attack was jailed for three years. He wrote the incident happened the evening after he had played a game for Newcastle United.
He describes how an unnamed “celebrity mate” of his former partner invited himself round to watch a boxing match, but Carroll had always felt “there’s something odd about him”.
The footballer said he retired to bed early after feeling uncomfortable during their interactions and remembers experiencing being “light-headed” after “a few drinks”. He then describes being awoken to the visitor sexually assaulting him.
Carroll says he then threw him out of the house, but that he “smack(ed) him as hard as I can” when the man tried to re-enter, knocking him unconscious. He subsequently called the police and was “sobbing in (his children’s) nanny’s arms”.
Carroll added: “What if I’ve killed him? Nobody will know what happened before I punched him, and why would they believe my story?”
The attacker denied Carroll’s allegations, but was charged with sexual offences by the police. The striker gave evidence in court, an ordeal which he described as “humiliating and embarrassing and absolutely horrendous”.
The man was found guilty of sexual offences by the jury and sentenced to three years in prison, placed on the Sex Offender Register and banned from entering the village where Carroll lived.
Carroll wrote: “What happened to me affected every facet of my life. I’d think about it every day, making it difficult to focus on anything else, including football…The trauma of what happened to me hasn’t gone away.”
