Blonde soccer PA couldn’t keep out of the dressing room when players hit the shower
THE life of a football WAG has its perks, from showbiz parties to designer clothes.
So perhaps it’s not surprising that some women go to great lengths to win players’ attention – even outside of the glamorous Premier League.
Kerry Miller’s bizarre attempts to get noticed included barging into the team’s dressing room and sending them scantily clad photos of herself, a tribunal heard.
The office worker at League Two football club Burton Albion claims she was forced to quit her job by bosses.
But the club accuses the 45-year-old of bursting into the dressing room on at least 15 occasions while players were getting changed and showering.
She took on extra jobs to get in contact with players and sent them photographs of herself in her underwear, Leicester Employment Tribunal heard.
The mother-of-one, who had an affair with a player in his 20s and sent halfnaked pictures to at least one other, worked in sales and support at Pirelli Stadium, in Burton-upon-Trent, Staffordshire, for two years until she left in February last year.
Club chairman Ben Robinson told the tribunal that mobile phone pictures of Miss Miller in ‘various stages of undress’ were circulated among the team.
He learned of the photos after two players – striker Calvin Zola, 31, who now plays for Aberdeen, and defender Zander Diamond, 28 – complained about her barging in on players in September 2012.
Mr Robinson said: ‘The complaint was about Kerry’s conduct with regards to the number of times she was coming into the players’ dressing room while they were taking showers and partially dressed.
‘The players as a group would joke that any minute now Kerry would walk through the doors,’ he said.
The widow admitted sending ‘private’ pictures to 23-year- old striker Billy Kee, who then showed them to his team-mates.
She told the panel: ‘The Billy Kee incident was an isolated mistake and I held my hands up and said I made a mistake.
‘I asked him to delete the photos and he said he would, but instead showed them to other players. He is not the brightest boy in the world and I wanted him to do what I asked [by deleting the photos], I didn’t want people knowing he had photos of me. I told him it could cost me my job.’
Miss Miller, whose husband died 18 months before she started work at the club, also admitted she had a ‘casual’ relationship with defender Ryan Austin, 29, who now plays for Brackley Town. She later described a new player as her ‘next conquest’
‘Sent half-naked pictures to players’
the tribunal heard. She allegedly set her sights on goalkeeper and model Stuart Tomlinson, who she thought was ‘fit’.
She was pictured holding a modelling snap of him, ‘looking happy with herself’, the panel heard.
A photo of the pair was posted on Facebook during a night out while the player was off work recovering from an injury.
Sarah George, for Burton Albion, said: ‘This picture might have been seen by sponsors and supporters.
‘When you went into work the following week the club manager, Fleur Robinson, says she told you any relationship which affects the club would be frowned upon. This is the sort of thing which could bring the club into disrepute.’
Miss Miller denied having designs on the goalie and stressed they were not in a relationship.
Miss Miller, who lives in a £400,000 house in Marchington, Staffordshire, with her daughter, denied claims she burst into the players’ dressing room unannounced.
She said she entered the changing room on only four occasions, and knocked and shouted each time.
The tribunal heard she went nightclubbing with another Burton Albion player and posted Facebook photos of them together.
The club, which denies unfair treatment, says Miss Miller took on jobs cooking and serving food in addition to her full-time role to get direct contact with players.
Mr Robinson allegedly asked her to stop serving meals, telling her to ‘concentrate on your job’. But Miss Miller, who started work at the club in September 2011, says she was forced to quit and is claiming constructive dismissal, sexual discrimination and harassment.
She said: ‘I was good at what I did. I loved my job, I was not going to let Ben [the chairman], who wasn’t there most of the time, stop me doing something I loved.’
Miss Miller, who describes herself on Facebook as a self- employed beauty worker, said she offered to cook as a favour because the chef was not coming in. Mr Robinson shouted at her for it, she said, adding: ‘I was upset and humiliated . . . which is why I later left.’
She claimed Mr Robinson called her ‘attractive’ and asked if she was ‘seeking a husband’ during her job interview. Mr Robinson said she got the job on the recommendation of her mother, Carol Richards, who also works at the club.
He added: ‘I categorically deny I made any reference to Kerry seeking a husband at Burton Albion.’
Mrs Richards said she believed Mr Robinson had ‘a soft spot’ for her daughter.
The tribunal, due to last five days, continues.