England footballer Daniel Sturridge sues ex-landlord for £100,000 for racial discrimination because the mansion owner’s 11-year-old child had named his own Netflix account ‘n*****’
- Sturridge and girlfriend Jamilla Ferreira rented mansion from O’Neill family
- Lived in home, in Cheshire, from October 2018 but moved out in February 2019
- Footballer and Ms Ferreira found the Neflix account while accessing Apple TV
- It belonged to the youngest son of the Alan O’Neill and his wife Katie
England footballer Daniel Sturridge is suing his former landlords for racial discrimination and harassment after he and his girlfriend found a child’s Netflix account labelled ‘n*****’.
Sturridge rented the Cheshire mansion belonging to Alan O’Neill and his wife Katie in October 2018 during his six-year stint at Liverpool and is seeking £100,000-worth of damages.
The footballer and his partner Jamilla Ferreira were ‘deeply upset’ after they discovered the racially offensive profile when they accessed the O’Neill family’s Netflix app on their Apple TV account.
England footballer Daniel Sturridge is suing his former landlords for racial discrimination and harassment after he and his girlfriend found a child’s Netflix account labelled ‘n*****’. Pictured: The star with his girlfriend Ferreira
The profile, which belonged to the O’Neill’s youngest son, who was 11, showed a caricature of a black person along with the racist term which Sturridge and his guests found offensive.
The news, which was reported by The Times, was revealed in court documents filed at Manchester County Court.
The n-word, although more commonly accepted when used within the black community, is considered extremely offensive and racist when used by white people.
Sturridge rented the Cheshire mansion belonging to Alan O’Neill and his wife Katie in October 2018 during his six-year stint at Liverpool and is seeking £100,000-worth of damages
The footballer and his partner Jamilla Ferreira were ‘deeply upset’ after they discovered the racially offensive profile when they accessed the O’Neill family’s Netflix app on their Apple TV account
Court documents reportedly show that the O’Neills, who had moved to California with their children, ‘profusely’ apologised and said they were not aware of the account.
They said there young son was a fan of black music, especially rap and that he had made a ‘silly mistake’ which he had been punished for.
They went on to change the account’s username as well as the profile picture.
Sturridge had agreed to pay the O’Neills £18,500 a month to live in the home, in Mere, near Knutsford, until the end of July 2019.
However, documents allegedly show that the couple discovered the Netflix account on November 24 and moved out on February 14.
The profile, which belonged to the O’Neill’s youngest son, who was 11, showed a caricature of a black person along with the racist term which Sturridge and his guests found offensive. Pictured: Sturridge has played 26 times for England and 116 league appearances for Liverpool
Just days before the discovery, Sturridge had been charged with allegedly breaching FA betting rules, for which he received a £75,000 fine and six-week ban, four of which were suspended.
And the relationship between Sturridge and his girlfriend and the O’Neill’s appears to have become difficult after the discovery of the profile.
The family claimed to have been offended by a letter which Sturridge and Ms Ferreira sent suggesting that that the O’Neills’ older children were in the wrong if they had ignored the existence of the account.
Court documents reportedly show that the O’Neills, who had moved to California with their children, ‘profusely’ apologised to Sturridge and Ms Ferriera and said they were not aware of the account
The O’Neills felt that they were being accused of being bad parents.
Correspondence between the families then became heated when the O’Neills pursued Sturridge in the county court for £67,000 of unpaid rent.
Sturridge paid the rent in July 2019 but then filed a separate claim for damages ‘in respect of the defendants’ discrimination against them and/or harrassment on the grounds of their race’.
Mrs O’Neill then contacted Ms Ferreira to apologise but Sturridge and his girlfriend wrote a letter explaining how they found the word ‘profoundly offensive.’
Mr O’Neill then wrote a long reply in which he insisted he and his wife had ‘profusely apologised’ for their son’s mistake.
He went on to say that they had received the most ‘shocking and disrespectful’ letter from Sturridge and Ms Ferreira which included ‘harmful’ words about their eldest children.