The date is August 20, 2023, and Sam Kerr is the biggest superstar in Australian sport.
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The Matildas captain is dancing on stage, grabbing a microphone from pop icon Nikki Webster in front of more than 5000 fans as Queensland Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk prepares to gift the team the “Keys to the City of Brisbane” following their enthralling 2023 World Cup campaign.
It is this picture that makes Sam Kerr’s five-day trial at Kingston Crown Court in London so much more significant than the potential threat of six months imprisonment.
That is the reality the Chelsea striker is facing as she continues to defend herself this week after being charged with causing racially aggravated harassment to a police officer.
The charges relate to a drunken night out in January, 2023, where the 31-year-old was alleged to have caused criminal damage to a taxi before calling police constable Stephen Lovell “f***ing stupid and white.”
Footage from PC Lovell’s body camera has been particularly confronting for some fans to view.
Could Sam Kerr face jail time?
Kerr has pleaded not guilty to the offence of racially aggravated harassment to a police officer.
The offence carries a maximum sentence of 26 weeks in jail under UK law.
The offence also includes a maximum financial penalty of around $500 (£2500).
The damage to her reputation would be much more significant.
Kerr is Australia’s highest paid female footballer and earned $3.3 million in 2023.
Will Sam Kerr remain captain of the Matildas?
Football Australia has refused to guarantee Kerr will remain captain of the national team.
Interim coach Tom Sermanni said on Tuesday it would be “unwise” for him to comment on Kerr’s future while there remains no outcome in the ongoing trial.
Football Australia boss James Johnson also asked for fans to wait until the end of the trial before making their own judgments.
“We understand that there will be some disappointment out there (from fans), but what we would ask is that we all wait out,” Johnson said on Wednesday.
“We know there’s a 30-second, 40-second clip out there but we also know there’s a 30-minute video out there which certainly we haven’t seen.
“What we need to do we need to give Sam the opportunity to go through the trial.
“Once we complete the trial, then we’ll have a holistic view of what’s happened.”
Kerr’s captaincy was called into question by Socceroos legend Craig Foster before he backflipped and apologised to her in March, 2024, when new claims about her comments were revealed.
Talkback radio segments on Wednesday were flooded with calls for Kerr to be stripped of the captaincy. 2GB host Ben Fordham promoted calls from listeners that said they were “disgusted” with Kerr and added she “can’t captain again”.
Her future with her English Super League club Chelsea has not come into any doubt.
Coach Sonia Bompastor said Kerr has her support, but added her knee injury is still keeping her away from teammates, forcing her to train on an individual program.
How has the Sam Kerr saga played out?
January 29, 2023: Sam Kerr scores a hat trick in the club’s FA Cup showdown with Liverpool at Kingsmeadow. The 3-2 win sees Chelsea progress to the fifth round of the competition.
January 30, 2023: Sam Kerr celebrates her performance with a night out with partner Kristie Mewis. Kerr mentioned earlier in the trial that she was “intoxicated”. It is alleged one of the women vomited in a taxi they booked to take them back to their London home.
Kerr has alleged the driver acted “crazy” and refused to let them leave. The driver called police and drove to Twickenham Police Station where police allegedly noticed a broken window, glass on the ground outside the vehicle and damage to the plastic guard inside the taxi. Kerr is held in custody and speaks with Police Constable Stephen Lovell. Body camera footage shows her calling Lovell “stupid and white”. Footage also shows Kerr describing the taxi driver as a “f***ing liar” and a “stupid c**t”.
January 31, 2023: Kerr returns to Twickenham Police Station where she is formally interviewed by police constable Ryan Skinner for 20 minutes. Kerr tells Skinner she would say sorry if she was now able to say something to Lovell.
December, 2023: Lovell submits a second statement saying he was “shocked, upset, and (left) me feeling humiliated”. The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) originally decided not to charge Kerr.
January 21, 2024: Kerr is charged with a racially aggravated offence under Section 4A Public Order Act 1986.
March 4, 2024: Kerr pleads not guilty.
April, 2024: Hearings were delayed after the Crown Prosecution Service were unable to gather enough evidence, including CCTV footage, to cross examine the football superstar.
January 15, 2025: Sam Kerr appears at Kingston-upon-Thames Crown Court where her hopes of having the case dismissed before it goes to trial are dashed.
February 4: The case begins on the opening day with prosecution showing 30 minutes of footage captured on Lovell’s body camera.
February 5: Lovell is challenged over why it took him 11 months to mention the “stupid and white” comment having an impact on him.
February 6: Sam Kerr is expected to give evidence in court.
2025 will be the biggest year of Sam Kerr’s life
Sam Kerr and American partner Kristie Mewis in November announced they are expecting their first child together.
Kerr, 31, and Mewis, 33, have been together since 2021 and got engaged in 2023. Mewis confirmed they were engaged in November after several weeks of speculation fuelled in part by social posts featuring her wearing a diamond ring on her engagement finger.
It is also a huge year for her on the field with massive doubts about the star striker’s ability to remain at her elite-level of performance after so much time on the sidelines.
She missed the entire 2024 calendar year after rupturing the ACL in her knee.
She was expected to have returned to training by now, but her recovery is taking longer than most serious knee injuries.
Kerr was not selected in the Matildas squad for the SheBelievesCup, however, Sermani stressed that was only because of her fitness.
Chelsea has also said Kerr is expected to return to training with her teammates soon.
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