Ex-England footballer Daniel Sturridge LOSES racial harassment claim against his landlord over Netflix account on one of the rented mansion’s TVs that had the username ‘n*****’
- Daniel Sturridge rented mansion belonging to Alan O’Neill and his wife Katie
- Rented it for £18,500 per month in October 2018 during his stint at Liverpool
- But footballer and partner Jamilla Ferreira discovered racially-offensive profile
- Pair demanded £100,000 of damages for ‘discrimination’ and ‘harassment’
- Judge today dismissed claim over the account which belonged to O’Neills’ son
England footballer Daniel Sturridge has lost his racial discrimination and harassment claim against his landlord over a child’s Netflix account labelled ‘n*****’.
Sturridge rented an £18,500-per-month Cheshire mansion belonging to Alan O’Neill and his wife Katie in October 2018 during his six-year stint at Liverpool.
But, less than two months after they moved in, the footballer and his partner Jamilla Ferreira discovered a profile called ‘n*****’ when they accessed the O’Neills’ Netflix app on their Apple TV account.
The pair demanded £100,000 of damages for ‘discrimination’ and ‘harassment on the grounds of their race’.
But a judge today dismissed Sturridge’s claim and said Mrs O’Neill made ‘a genuine attempt to apologise’ for the account – which belonged to their 11-year-old son.
England footballer Daniel Sturridge has lost his racial discrimination and harassment claim against his landlord over a child’s Netflix account labelled ‘n*****’. Pictured: The footballer with his girlfriend Ferreira
Sturridge rented the Cheshire mansion (pictured) belonging to Alan O’Neill and his wife Katie for £18,500 per month in October 2018 during his six-year stint at Liverpool
The profile – which Sturridge and Ms Ferreira discovered on November 24 – showed a caricature of a black person along with n-word.
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 their son was was a fan of black music, especially rap, and would have heard the term while listening to it.
But, less than two months after they moved in, the footballer and his partner Jamilla Ferreira discovered a profile called ‘n*****’ when they accessed the O’Neills’ Netflix app on their Apple TV account. Pictured: The mansion where they were staying
The O’Neills went on to change the account’s username as well as the profile picture – but the tenants moved out on February 14.
They had intended to stay in the property until July 2019.
Sturridge and Ms Ferreira sent Mr and Mrs O’Neill a letter on December 10, stating that their older children were in the wrong if they had ignored the existence of the account.
The pair demanded £100,000 of damages for ‘discrimination’ and ‘harassment on the grounds of their race’. Pictured: Sturridge has played 26 times for England and 116 league appearances for Liverpool
But a judge today dismissed Sturridge’s claim and said Mrs O’Neill made ‘a genuine attempt to apologise’ for the account – which belonged to their 11-year-old son. Pictured: Sturridge and Ms Ferreira
The letter, reported in The Times, read: ‘Your son can play act this word, but at the end of the day he goes back to his privileged ‘white skin’ existence.’
Judge Platts said that the letter was ‘an attempt by them to explain their position to the defendants’, it ended up causing ‘deep upset to the defendants and their family’.
Correspondence between the families 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 different claim for damages ‘in respect of the defendants’ discrimination against them and/or harrassment on the grounds of their race’.
Just days before the discovery of the account in November, Sturridge had been charged with allegedly breaching FA betting rules.
He was slapped with a £75,000 fine and was banned for six weeks – but four of the weeks were suspended.