Former England striker Andy Carroll reveals he was sexually assaulted in 2021

Former England, Newcastle and Liverpool striker Andy Carroll has disclosed in his autobiography that he was sexually assaulted by a man at his home in 2021, with the perpetrator subsequently jailed for three years after Carroll testified in court.

Carroll, 37, made the details public in his book Owning It, released on September 24.

As a victim of sexual assault, he was automatically granted anonymity, though he chose to include the incident himself after a lengthy discussion with his partner Lou Teasdale.

The assault took place during a second spell at Newcastle United. An unnamed man, described as a celebrity acquaintance of his former partner who had always struck Carroll as someone with "something odd about him", came to watch a boxing match at his home.

Carroll retired to bed early after feeling uncomfortable, and was woken to find the man assaulting him while he slept.

Carroll threw the man out of the house and knocked him unconscious when he attempted to re-enter. He then called the police and was left in a distressed state.

The attacker denied the allegations but was found guilty of sexual offences, sentenced to three years in prison, placed on the sex offenders register and banned from entering the village where Carroll lived.

"I was sexually assaulted, there I said it. Scary to even think about and only a few people knew about it before now," Carroll wrote. He decided to include the episode at the very last minute.

"Scary to talk about but it's made me 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."

He described testifying in court as "humiliating and embarrassing and absolutely horrendous", and was candid about the lasting impact.

"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," he wrote.

Carroll broke through as a teenager at Newcastle before becoming the most expensive British footballer in history in 2011 when he joined Liverpool for 35 million pounds.

He later moved to West Ham, scoring 33 goals in 126 appearances, and won nine England caps between 2010 and 2012. He now plays for and co-owns National League South club Dagenham and Redbridge.

In March 2026, Carroll pleaded not guilty at Chelmsford Crown Court to breaching a non-molestation order. A trial date has been set for January 2027.