The ex-Premier League star said he 'can't forget' the attack, which left him 'humiliated and embarrassed'
Andy Carroll is now player-coach at Dagenham & Redbridge
Andy Carroll is now player-coach at Dagenham & Redbridge(Image: Offside via Getty Images)
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Footballer Andy Carroll has revealed he was sexually assaulted by a friend of his ex. The former Liverpool and England star made the revelation in his new book, Owning It.
He said he "can't forget" the attack, which occurred in 2021 while he was still playing for Newcastle, and decided to include it in his memoir "at the last minute". He said if talking about it "helps just one person, then it will have been worth it", reports the Daily Express.
After a case spanning two years, the abuser was found guilty by a jury and given a three-year prison sentence.
Carroll wrote: "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 [Teasdale, his current partner] spent a lot of time discussing whether to mention it in this book or not.
Andy Carroll and Lou Teasdale
Andy Carroll and Lou Teasdale(Image: @andytcarroll/instagram)
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"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."
Carroll claims he was assaulted by a male friend of his ex-wife, who had invited himself round to his house and "took over the kitchen" while he was trying to watch boxing on TV. Carroll was previously married to The Only Way Is Essex star, Billi Mucklow.
He wrote: "He wants a tour of the house and asks if we've got a sex dungeon. What the f***? When I tell him I'm going to bed soon, he doesn't react. I keep thinking about my kids sleeping upstairs and I'm starting to freak out. I text my partner all the way through the fight, saying that I want him out of the place.
"I start feeling a bit light-headed and think, I've had a few drinks but not that many. Has he slipped me something? Right, time for bed, I say to him. I'll order you a taxi. 'Oh no!' he says. 'I'll stay.'
"In the spare room, I text my partner again and she tells me to put him in a room on the other side of the house. I sleep naked, and when I wake up, this guy is under the duvet trying to give me a b******. I jump up and shout, 'What the f*** are you doing?'
Carroll said when he attempted to throw him out of his house, the abuser "tried to cuddle" him. The former Liverpool and Newcastle star then punched the man and called the police.
After being consoled by his children's nanny, Carroll feared he had killed the man. He wrote: "I'm sobbing in the nanny's arms and she's trying to comfort me while we wait for the police to come, and then it suddenly occurs to me: What if I've killed him?
"Nobody will know what happened before I punched him, and why would they believe my story? Jesus Christ, I could get done for murder. He regains consciousness just as the police turn up and immediately starts telling them that I hit him for no reason. Now I'm thinking, is this gonna end up being a case of his word against mine? If so, I might be f*****.
"As it is, the police arrest him, and I have to go to the station as well, leaving behind five very confused children and a traumatised nanny. His story is that I wanted to have sex with him and, when he said no, got angry and hit him.
"I tell the police what really happened. They also take swabs from our mouths and penises and confiscate our phones. Thank God for police forensics."
Andy Carroll
Andy Carroll joined Dagenham & Redbridge after spells with French clubs Amiens and Bordeaux(Image: Getty Images)
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The case eventually went to trial, during which Carroll testified. He turned down the option of giving evidence from behind a curtain, describing the experience as "humiliating and embarrassing and absolutely horrendous."
He added: "The thought of telling my story in court made me feel sick. But they'd also found lots of dodgy messages to young boys on his phone, so they said to me, 'If you don't speak, he might get away with it and go on to abuse more kids?'"
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The abuser was eventually found guilty, sentenced to three years in prison, put on the National Sex Offender Register and banned from setting foot in the village where Carroll lived. Carroll said the trauma of the ordeal hasn't gone away and paid tribute to Teasdale for her support.
He wrote: "I'm still coping with it every day. I used to see those messages you get at the start of TV programmes, warning of potentially distressing content, and think they were pointless. But since the incident, if anything to do with sexual assault comes up, l get upset, and Lou will often research programmes online, just in case.
"If you keep something hidden for years, you obviously don't want people to know about it. But then I started thinking about the incident in relation to the title of this book. By owning what happened to me rather than trying to bury it, perhaps I can have some control over it, rather than it controlling me."
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