A lot to get serious about – when Carrol singers sing By Donald C Stewart

Date: 2nd October 2026

A lot to get serious about – when Carrol singers sing

By Donald C Stewart

When writing any serious column about Scottish football in weeks where there is a plethora of opportunities to make comments on a wide-ranging number of topics, including the Government talking of lifting the alcohol ban at stadia, what sanctions should be in place for Manchester City for their breaches of financial fair play regulations, or Celtic and Rangers appealing their sanctions for supporters’ behaviour on the pitch of no away fans and £100,000 being given over to their opponents in cup games, or about Aberdeen losing 500 tickets for the semi-final due to their supporters having stormed onto the pitch and held aloft various pyrotechnics or where there is a yearlong ban on signing players at Cove Rangers, or the latest twist in whether Greenock Morton will survive, it can be hard to choose.

But my eye was not drawn to any of those.

It was drawn to Andy Carroll revealing that he was sexually assaulted in 2021. The Dagenham and Redbridge boss who has had a stellar career across English and foreign football including stints at Newcastle United, Liverpool, Reading, West Brom, Amiens and Bordeaux, has revealed this in his biography. The tale he tells is he had somebody to stay as a guest who then attacked him while he was sleeping. He threw the man out of the house and ended up in an altercation. It led to a court case where, as the victim of sexual assault, Andy Carroll was granted anonymity and a conviction for the man concerned.

I’m not going to name him, and not because I know his name, but because I think that at times giving publicity to people who have been found guilty of any offence can be self-defeating.

I want to concentrate on Carroll. I want to concentrate on him because in the context of a macho environment like football it is enriching to the sport and also to people who may have suffered similar instances or are struggling with their sexuality in some way that what we get is people who are honest.

I’m not taking what happened to Carroll and turning it into some kind of LGBTQIA+ learning moment. I’m not equating the two, but what I do see is the openness for people to talk about these issues is something that within football can be quite difficult because the environment does not encourage it. So, to see somebody come out and be brave enough to put it into their biography is something to be lauded and applauded.

The report of him sobbing in the arms of the children’s nanny also goes against that macho culture of somebody who should be able to man up and deal with any situation.

Carroll’s comments, therefore, are to be welcomed not because they have broken new ground, but because they add to the opportunity given to us all to reflect on the way that we behave and suggest that we should be more open to listening to people when they come towards you.

I am no saint when it comes to listening to the mental health concerns of people around about me. There are times when I have been judgmental and not been open to having conversations with them. Things like this remind me of the responsibility I have to make sure that I do listen to change the narrative. It is increasingly important that people feel comfortable to talk openly about things that have happened to them. It doesn’t need to be something that ends up with a headline on a BBC website or in the national press but it could be a local discussion, a moment in time within friends and family, or just something that when you get the chance and feel comfortable that you have an opportunity to platform your experience and give people the benefit of that.

Our response should always be kindness – just be kind.

Wasn’t that what Caroline Flack said in her suicide note?

We also should listen to people without jumping onto the white horse to slay their attacker but listen and be open to helping them get through what is a very difficult moment in their life which stays with them forever. I know that I for one need to take that on board and I hope that anybody who read it and read the support that Carroll got from his partner Lou Teasdale is one that should tug not at our heartstrings but at our capacity to enrich the support that we give to people.

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