From Newcastle upon Tyne to Bordeaux, via London and the England set-up, Andy Carroll’s career has crossed much of the European football map. This week, however, the former Liverpool forward used the publication of his autobiography to disclose an experience that had remained known to only a small circle around him: he was sexually assaulted at his home in 2021.
Carroll, 37, writes about the incident in Owning It, released on Thursday. It occurred during his second spell with Newcastle United, after he had played a match for the club. He had invited a man he knew, who was also a friend of his partner at the time, to his home to watch boxing.
Feeling unwell, Carroll went to bed. He says he woke while the assault was taking place, removed the man from the house and struck him when he attempted to come back inside. Carroll then contacted police.
A trial and a decision to speak
The accused denied the allegation and the matter proceeded through the courts. Carroll gave evidence at the trial, an experience he described as degrading, embarrassing and deeply distressing. The man was convicted of sexual offences, sentenced to three years in prison and placed on the sex offenders register.
Carroll decided to include the account only near the end of the book’s preparation, after discussing it with his current partner, Lou Teasdale. He said that speaking publicly remained frightening, but that the event had shaped him as much as the positive moments in his life. If sharing it helps even one person, he wrote, then doing so will have been worthwhile.
The former England international also explains that the trauma did not recede after the legal case. It occupied his thoughts daily and affected his ability to focus, including during his football career. “The trauma of what happened to me has not gone away,” he said.
Carroll came through at Newcastle before Liverpool paid £35 million for him in 2011. His later club career took him to West Ham United, Reading and West Bromwich Albion, as well as Amiens and Bordeaux in France. He won nine England caps and was part of the squad at Euro 2012.
