diff --git a/java/client/src/org/openqa/selenium/support/ui/Select.java b/java/client/src/org/openqa/selenium/support/ui/Select.java
index 92111f93f52f0..90b519adbadb1 100644
--- a/java/client/src/org/openqa/selenium/support/ui/Select.java
+++ b/java/client/src/org/openqa/selenium/support/ui/Select.java
@@ -133,8 +133,11 @@ public void selectByVisibleText(String text) {
           element.findElements(By.xpath(".//option[contains(., " +
                                         Quotes.escape(subStringWithoutSpace) + ")]"));
       }
+
+      String trimmed = text.trim();
+
       for (WebElement option : candidates) {
-        if (text.equals(option.getText())) {
+        if (trimmed.equals(option.getText().trim())) {
           setSelected(option, true);
           if (!isMultiple()) {
             return;