Ryan Hiscott/Getty Sam Kerr has pleaded not guilty to racial harassment charges in London.
Sam Kerr is accused of calling a London police officer a “stupid white (expletive)” during an incident in January 2023 that has led to criminal charges against the Australian soccer star, The Sun reports.
The racially aggravated harassment charge against the 30-year-old Chelsea and Australian women’s national team striker was revealed on March 4, 2024, when Kerr appeared via video in court for the first time, according to The Sun.
Kerr, who has not commented about the case, has pleaded not guilty, according to the BBC. Kerr was charged January 21, 2024, more than a year after the incident, according to police.
“The charge relates to an incident involving a police officer who was responding to a complaint involving a taxi fare on 30 January 2023 in Twickenham,” a Metropolitan Police spokesperson told the BBC. “She was charged on 21 January with a racially aggravated offense under Section 4A [of the] Public Order Act 1986.”
Kerr Is Accused of Causing ‘Harassment, Alarm or Distress’ to the Officer by Using ‘Abusive or Insulting Words’
The incident in January 2023 came hours after Kerr scored 3 goals for Chelsea in a match against Liverpool.
According to court documents obtained by the Australian Broadcasting Company, Kerr is accused of intending to cause the police officer, identified only as PC Lovell, “harassment, alarm or distress” with “abusive or insulting words or behavior” and of becoming “disorderly” during the incident.
The Daily Mail reports that Kerr vomited in the taxi before the incident with police.
A trial against Kerr is scheduled for February 2025, if the case is not settled before then.
According to the Daily Mail, court records revealed that Kerr’s legal team plan to argue that police took too long to bring charges against Kerr. The Sun added details from the court hearing writing that, “The judge said she understood that Kerr’s defense would be that she did not intend to cause alarm, harassment or distress to the police officer and that her behavior was not racially motivated.”
Kerr’s Chelsea Coach Says She Has the Club’s ‘Full Support’
Kerr has been sidelined since tearing her ACL in January 2024, according to Chelsea. Kerr’s father revealed in early March that she would not be ready to play for Australia at the Paris Olympics, but should be ready to play when Chelsea begins its next season, according to 7 News.
Chelsea coach Emily Hayes broke her silence on the charges against her star player when speaking to the media on March 6, video of her press conference posted on YouTube by Chelsea shows.
“I think the first thing I want to say is that Sam has our full support. She knows that,” Hayes told reporters. “Yes, it’s a difficult time for her. Of course I can’t comment more, you already know that. What I can say is that I know she’s pleaded not guilty and I don’t want to do anything to jeopardize anything for Sam by speaking about it.
The Chelsea coach continued, “And for that reason I’m sure you can appreciate that’s all I’m going to say on the matter. But she has our full support and she knows that. It’s really important that I get that across. It’s something I really, really value.”
Hayes added, “There’s difficult moments, there’s tough times. And that’s what my role is in this football club is to make sure I look after our people. And I just want to be clear that Sam will be fully supported by me and everybody else at Chelsea.”
Australia coach Tony Gustavsson said he only learned about the case against Kerr the morning she appeared in court, according to The Sydney Morning Herald. “I was informed this morning and obviously I was surprised,” Gustavsson told reporters. He said he wasn’t able to comment further and he hasn’t spoken to Kerr.
“I can’t comment on the offense because it’s a legal matter at this point. The only thing I can comment is my experience and interaction with Sam as a person, as a footballer and I have only positive experiences from that,” Gustavsson said.