(London) Australian international women's soccer star Sam Kerr will stand trial in the United Kingdom for racially insulting a police officer, a charge she pleaded not guilty to, a judicial source learned on Monday.
A spokesman for the Metropolitan Police said the facts were old and dated January 30 last year in Twickenham, south-west London. They occurred when a police officer was responding to a dispute over the fare for a taxi ride, he continued.
Sam Kerr, 30, who plays for Chelsea FC, is expected to go on trial in February 2025. He is being prosecuted for “threatening, assaulting and insulting” conduct, an offense punishable by fine or imprisonment. has been proven.
Football Federation Australia chief executive James Johnson said the allegations were “concerning” and “extremely serious”. “This is about racism and there is no place for racism in our sport,” Football Australia director continued, and Sam Kerr insisted “there are rights (…) rights in practice”.
Australian women's coach Toni Gustavson said on Tuesday she was “surprised” and could not comment on the offense “as it is a legal matter at this stage”.
“The only thing I can comment on is my experience and my relationship with Sam and as a person and a footballer. I have only had positive experiences,” he said.
Having undergone surgery in early January with a severe injury to the anterior cruciate ligament of the knee, contracted during the winter training camp in Morocco, the attacker is recovering from the intervention, but the rest of his season, especially this summer's Olympic Games in Paris, is strongly compromised.
“I think it's a bit late to consider selection at this point, as we all know with Sam's serious injury in January, there's a very big question mark over whether he can be selected,” announced Toni Gustavsson.
Runner-up to Spaniard Aidana Bonmati for the 2023 Ballon d'Or, Sam Kerr has been playing at Chelsea since the 2019-2020 season, where he has piled up the titles: the last four English championships, plus three FA Cups and two League Cups. .
International since the age of 15, Sam Kerr was part of the “Matildas” adventure during the World Cup co-hosted by Australia and New Zealand last summer. After defeating France in the quarter-finals, they faced England in the semi-finals.
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