International women’s football star Sam Kerr is facing trial in England after pleading not guilty to a racially aggravated offence against a London police officer, prosecutors said.
The Chelsea striker and Australia
captain was charged following an incident in January last year, when the
Metropolitan Police said they were called to a dispute over a taxi fare.
The 30-year-old Kerr, born to an
Anglo-Indian father and Australian mother, is a treasured sporting figure in
Australia and one of the most famous players in women’s football.
Australia’s all-time leading scorer
last year graced the cover of the FIFA video game alongside Kylian Mbappe.
She is expected to face trial in
February 2025. The charge, relating to “threatening, abusive or insulting”
behaviour, can carry a fine or custodial sentence if proven.
The alleged incident occurred before
last year’s World Cup, which was held in Australia and New Zealand, but was not
publicly disclosed until now and appeared to take Australian football bosses by
surprise.
Matildas coach Tony Gustavsson said he
had only found out about the allegation on Tuesday and was yet to speak to his
skipper.
“I was informed this morning and
obviously I was surprised,” he said.
“I can’t comment on the offence because
it’s a legal matter at this point. The only thing I can comment on is my
experience and interaction with Sam as a person, and as a footballer.
“And I have only had positive
experiences,” he said.
Gustavsson said it was too early to say
whether the allegation would rule Kerr out of selection for this summer’s Paris
Olympics.
Kerr has been sidelined since January
with a ruptured anterior cruciate ligament.
“I think it’s a bit too early to look
at selection at this time and as we all know with Sam’s serious injury in
January, there’s obviously a very big question mark whether she will even be up
for selection,” said Gustavsson.
‘Very serious’
Football Australia CEO James Johnson
called the allegation “unsettling” and “very serious”.
“We’ve got our own questions that we’d
like to know. We’ve got to find out what actually happened,” he said.
“It’s regarding racism, and there’s no
place for racism in our sport. At the same time. Sam has rights, natural
justice rights, procedural rights, that she’s going to work her way through and
we’re respectful of that.”
Former Australia men’s team captain
Craig Foster said the news was unexpected and distressing.
“Racism is a very serious issue (not
only) in sport. Let’s acknowledge the rights of the other person involved and
hope that February absolves Sam,” he posted on X, formerly Twitter.
Pace, agility
Kerr has been credited with helping
drive the booming popularity of the women’s game both in Australia and
globally.
She played Australian Rules football as
a youngster and was convinced she would one day represent her beloved West
Coast Eagles, like her elder brother.
She switched to football aged 12 and
made her full international debut against Italy in 2009, a precocious talent
aged just 15 at the time.
Known for her pace, agility and heading
ability — as well as her trademark backflip goal celebrations — Kerr left for
the United States in 2013.
She went first to Western New York
Flash, then Sky Blue FC in New Jersey and finally Chicago Red Stars.
After moving to Chelsea in 2020, Kerr
rose to a new level.
The 2023 Ballon d’Or runner-up scored
the only goal in Chelsea’s 1-0 win over Manchester United in last season’s FA
Cup final.
As her star has continued to rise over
the years, Kerr has signed lucrative endorsement deals with the likes of Nike
and Mastercard.
She has scored 99 goals in 128 games in
all competitions for Chelsea.
In 2019, Kerr became the first
Australian, man or woman, to score a hat-trick at a World Cup.